TLOU Mini-Series Part 3 : A New Life
by Carl Solo
Summary: TLOU Story Summary: This is a continuation of the ( Cabin in the woods) series. Joel and his new companion are on the way to rescue Ellie and the little boy. But thing goes hard when another snowstorm hit the mountain. Does Joel go to find Ellie in time? Or He is going to lose her forever?... Just read to find out. ( Hello there the last Part of this mini-series is been posted )
1. Chapter 1 : Just a little late

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

 **Warning** **: This story is rated M for languish, violence and sex in some chapter. So is not for kids, read if you're an adult or 18+. Most of the story is just rate T but have some adult containment. Now this Fiction story includes: Age difference relationship romance, but not underage since Ellie is 20 in this one. I recommend that you read the first 2 part if you going to read this one. Is not obligated but it will help to understand the story.**

 **A/N: First I want to said to the people reading this series, that I'm** **Sorry for the the long waiting that it take me to posting this part. But as I have to work on the plot, and as I didn't have much in mind for this one, it take me some time to finished. Also I have to finish my other one that got delay by the huracan we have here last summer. Now I** **want to LYK, that after the first chapter. Some of the follow chapters are going to be like a prequel of the main story. The first chapter is going to be the continuation of the last chapter in part -2. But the ones after that is going to jump to the past, to show the begging of Joel and Ellie romance relationship. This was something, that I not planned at first in this series as I was thinking on do it apart of it as a prequel after I finish this one. But as not much people read this one I decided to do it in here. Sorry that you need to wait a little longer to see what happen to Ellie. But this is a change that I wanted to try, so I hope that you like it. Thank you for be patience and I hope that you continue reading this story.**

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 **Chapter 1 : Just a little late**

 _The Fireflies got them._ Those words are in Joel's head and make him freeze for the last 5 minutes after the man died. Bibi is talking to Joel and shaking him but he just stays there, kneeling beside the dead man, in shock. The Fireflies... why did they have to be Fireflies? That was a name that he didn't think he was going to hear again. It's been 5 years since the incident in Salt Lake City, so how can it be possible that the Fireflies are still looking for Ellie? A moment later, he starts to hear Bibi calling his name, which pulls him out of the shock.

"Joel!... what is wrong with you…. Answer me?" asks Bibi, worried.

Joel moves his head and looks at her. The Fireflies have Ellie now, and all that is her fault. He wants to be furious at her, but he knows that they kind of forced her. But that is not going to change the fact that she helped them, and now Ellie is gone again. Joel stands up from the floor and walks out of the room without saying anything to her.

Bibi looks at him with her mouth wide open, not knowing what is wrong with him. But her boy is gone, too, and she needs to find him, so she stands up too and goes after him. When she gets out of the house, she sees him standing on the porch, looking at what was left of the slave camp. Bibi grabs his hand and makes him turn around. "Hey, what is wrong with you… and why did you go so pale when he said that the Fireflies took them... and why did the Fireflies take my boy?"

Joel looks her in the eye. "If you knew them as well as I do, you'd be worried, too… They're nothing but trouble. So we need to find them before they-" he stops before he says something he's not supposed to.

"You didn't answer my question?... I hear things about this Fireflies group, and how they are against the military… but for what purpose did they take my boy?" she asks Joel again.

Joel starts to move away from the big guest house and starts to look at the bodies. He tries to see if the men are from the slave group or the Fireflies. He gets close to the first body he sees, kneels down, and starts to search him. "Look, I don't know why they took your boy, or killed all these people, but we need to find them."

Bibi gets close to him and asks, "What are you doing?... we need to go after them. If that asshole was still alive when we arrived, that means that this battle can't have happened too long ago. So they're probably close to here."

Joel checks the bodies and doesn't find anything, so he stands up and starts looking for another. "This one wasn't a Firefly either, so move and check another one," says Joel to Bibi while he moves close to another body.

"Why are you searching the dead bodies?... We should be looking for the ones that have your girl, and my son. We should be going after them, don't you think?" she asks as soon as she gets close to another body.

Joel starts to search another body. "Of course I want to go after those assholes. But we don't know how many there are, or what direction they went. So we need to find out if any of these dead men were Fireflies and check if they have something on them that can help us to-… damn it!... This one has nothing, either," says Joel, looking around. He continues looking for other bodies while Bibi starts to do the same. After awhile, they just find that all the dead were from the slave camp.

"They don't have anything on them. They're cleaned out, and the weapons close to them are empty or damaged," says Bibi, throwing the one she has in her hand to the side.

Joel starts to look around the complex, trying to figure out what happened there before they arrived. "Okay, these men capture people to sell them as slaves, or worse... right?" he asks Bibi as soon as she gets beside him.

"Yes, that asshole sends a message to hunter camps or people like that as soon as they have some to sell. They didn't tell me much... they just used my son to make me trap people that pass through the mountain. Then they trade them for supplies, and sometimes for things that are worthless to anybody but the leader."

Joel looks at her, not believing that she is helping these people do that. "Okay… So somehow, they called the Fireflies and tried to sell Ellie and your boy to them. And for some reason, something went wrong and they killed all the slavers. From what I see here, there's like 12 bodies here. So the Fireflies have to be at least more than 5," says Joel, looking at the surrounding ground.

Bibi looks at him with some curiosity. "I don't get any of this!... Why did they contact the Fireflies? Or, a better question: why did the Fireflies want to buy a young woman and a kid?... that doesn't make any-"

"What we need to know now is how they got here!?... because I don't see any- wait -" Joel starts to walk toward two cabins that are supposed to be the entrance of the camp. When he gets close, he starts to look for any marks in the snow.

"What are you looking for?" asks Bibi while getting close to him.

"Tracks!... from horses or any kind of vehic- bingo!" As soon as he passes the cabins, he sees the tracks from a vehicle. He kneels down and starts to check them.

Bibi stops beside him and sees what he's looking at. "Are those truck tracks?" she asks, leaning down to see more closely.

"I think so. The tracks look big enough, so they probably have a military one." Joel moves his head and starts looking at the surrounding area to see if he can find more. "I can't see any different ones, so that means that they arrived in one truck. So they can't be more than 10 or 12 men," Joel finishes, looking at her.

"Okay!... the good news is that we can follow the tracks and see where they're going. The bad news is that they're too many for just the two of us. And they have a vehicle, so how are we going to catch them?" she asks him with some concern.

"It's going to be difficult to get down this mountain with a truck that big. So that is going to slow them down. But going after them on foot... that's going to be hard." Joel starts to look around again, looking at some of the cabins that were burned down. "You know this mountain, right?" he turns and asks her.

"Yeah... not all of it, but yeah… Why?" she answers him.

"Because I need you to find a short way to get down. Check the map and find a better way to intercept them." Then Joel starts to walk toward the small buildings.

"How?... even if I find one, they're at least a few hours ahead," she says, following him.

Joel stops and turns to her. "You want to find your boy, right?"

"Of course."

"Well, that's good, because I'm going to get my Ellie back. So use your knowledge and find a way," says Joel, then starts to walk again.

Bibi starts to get the map out of her pocket, then looks at him. "Where are you going?"

"To find us transportation," Joel says while he continues walking without saying anything more.

Joel starts looking into the cabins that aren't burned until he sees a larger one close to the big guest house. When he enters the cabin, he finds two horses in there… their horses. The cabin was transformed into some kind of storage, but they don't have much in there, just a few boxes and other stuff - not serviceable things. Joel moves close to the one that belongs to Ellie. "Hey… how are you doing, boy?" Joel passes his hand over the side of the horse and starts to check him to see if he has any injuries. "Do you miss Mommy... ummm?" Joel asks the horse. The horse moves his head, like he's saying yes. "Yeah, I miss her, too… but don't worry, we're going to get her back, I promise," Joel says while he continues passing his hand over the horse.

A few minutes later, Bibi enters the cabin. "Hey, I think I found- wow… are they your horses?" She walks close to Joel and starts to look at them. "Wow… how did you know that they were still here?" she asks, very surprised.

"Well, I wasn't sure, but then I remembered that you said that they took the horses when they took Ellie. So I was hoping that they were here."

"That's great!... now we can follow them more easily." She moves close to Joel and shows him the map. "Look, if they're using the truck to get off of the mountain, the only road that they can use is this one. But it was in bad condition, and with all the snow that's fallen for the last 3 days, it's going to be more difficult for them. And now with the horses, we can go down this way and get close to them before they do get out."

"Okay, that sounds good. I will prepare the horses while you go back to the main house and collect all the food you can and anything that we can use, okay?" Joel moves away and starts to look for the horses' saddles.

"Okay," says Bibi while she folds the map and puts it in her pocket. Then she walks out of the cabin.

( 30 minutes later )

Joel finishes putting the saddle on Ellie's horse and starts to pass his hand over the horse again. As he does that, Joel starts to think of Ellie.

 _They are sitting on the couch, watching a movie. Sometimes when they do that, it reminds Joel when he did the same with Sarah. Ellie has her head on Joel's shoulder, enjoying the movie._

" _Joel!"_

" _Hum?"_

" _Can you promise me something?" she asks him without looking at him._

 _Joel has his right arm around Ellie's neck, and he is playing with her loose hair. "Sure… whatever you want, kiddo."_

" _Promise me that whatever happens, you'll stay with me until the end." Joel stops playing with her hair. He knows that Ellie is afraid that if the people know about them, they will try to separate them. Joel loves her and wants to be with her as much as he can, but he knows that someday, he is going to die, and she will be alone again._

" _Ellie… you don't need me to-" He stops when Ellie puts her hand on his mouth to stop him._

 _Then Ellie moves her head to look in his eyes. "Just promise me… please!"_

 _Joel looks at her. "I promise that no matter what, I'm always going to be with you. There's nothing in this world that's going to take me away from you, okay?"_

 _Ellie smiles, then moves close to him and gives him a kiss. "I love you!"_

" _I love you too, kiddo," Joel says back to her, then he leans down and gives her a kiss, too._

Joel is taken out of his thoughts when Bibi enters the cabin, carrying two bags. "Hey, I found a few things that we can use, Including two coats. Also, I found some food, but I brought only what we can carry," says Bibi, putting the bags on the ground.

"Yeah, that's fine. The horses are ready, so help me put the stuff on them, so we can be on our way," says Joel, moving close to her and grabbing one of the bags.

After half an hour, both of them go out of the cabin with the horses and mount up. Joel looks at the sky before they start to move on. "I think that another storm is coming soon. So it's better to move faster and get down the mountain before that," says Joel while he gives Ellie's horse a kick and moves out. Bibi does the same and moves beside him.

"You know, maybe that can be good for us. If the storm hits them before they get off of the mountain. They're going to get stuck, and that way, we can get to them before they have the chance to escape," she says, looking in front. Then she looks back when they pass the entrance of the now-half-destroyed slave camp. She smiles a little, knowing that these people are not going to hurt anyone else again. Now the only thing on her mind is to get her son back from the Fireflies.

After they put some distance between them and the camp, Bibi takes the lead to guide Joel on the route they need to take. Joel looks back for a moment to see the camp in the distance, thinking that he was a little too late to rescue her from that place, but he is not going to lose hope, and he'll find those assholes who took her again. He turns his head to the front and looks at the back of the woman that betrayed them. She might be helping him now, but he's never going to forget that trusting in people so easily doesn't work all the time. Joel starts to hear Marlene's voice in his head.

 _Ellie is the key to end all this. Her sacrifice is going to save us all._ Yeah, a sacrifice that he is not ready to make. Not back then and definitely not now. He is going to find them and get Ellie back - he promised her, and he is not going to break that promise. After a moment, he looks at the sky again as some snow starts to fall. _I will find you, Ellie, and we're going to be together again, I promise._

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A/N: **Okay, as this is the start of this part of the story. I decided to posted today since is a holiday and because is the first post of the new part is going to take more time to do it and I can't do that at work this Wednesday. This story is going to be post one a week on Wednesday until the end. Is only have 15 chapter, but that is more the the first two part. I hope you like it and remember to left review, if you do or not. I like to read you opinion on it and those always are good motivation for the writers, so they are appreciated. Thank you and I hope you enjoy this part of the story.**


	2. Chapter 2 : A view into the Past

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.  
**

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 **Chapter 2 : A view into the past**

 ***One year earlier***

It is the end of October now, and the people of Jackson start preparing themselves for the Halloween party. Tommy and Maria are just using that day as an excuse to have some kind of festival, so the people of Jackson can have some fun time. They don't celebrate it like people did in the old times, when kids put costumes on and went house to house, asking for candy. Of course, none of that matters now, but it's a good day to throw a party for the kids and adults. Tommy marks the day as a family holiday, for people to get a day's break in town. They still use some Halloween decorations for the party. That always starts early in the day, so that way, they can do some activities for the younger kids. Maria puts the teens in charge of the decorations. So they make a competition on who does the best Halloween jack-o-'lantern, just like the old times. Of course, the adults only give them what is left after they use the insides to make the pumpkin pie. Maria assigns the adults to be in charge of the food, drinks, and music. So a lot of people have work to do for an entire week.

( Early in the morning )

Ellie opens her eyes slowly and turns her head to look at the table clock she has in her room. As soon as she sees the time, she takes off the sheet and moves out of the bed. She doesn't have to go to work early, but she knows that Joel does. She doesn't remember what time he came back last night, but it was late. Ellie walks out of her room and walks in front of Joel's. She can hear his snoring, so he's still sleeping. She moves to the kitchen to make something to eat before going up again to wake him up. After she finishes in the kitchen, she goes back up the stairs and walks to Joel's room.

Ellie is standing in front of Joel's bedroom door, undecided on whether to knock on the door or not. She is still wearing her sleeping clothes; that is, a red T-shirt with a Jurassic Park logo on the front, and long pink sleeping pants. She hears Joel snoring, even from outside the room and with the door closed. _Man, how can somebody be so loud when he's sleeping,_ she says to herself. Ellie needs to wake Joel up so he can go to work, but she doesn't know how to do it now. She's been trying to avoid entering his room when he is sleeping. She doesn't know why that is affecting her so much now, after she slept with him in his bed for the first year that they were living there. She remembers Maria telling her when she turned 16 that since she was getting closer to adulthood, she is going to experience some changes - not only in her body, but emotionally, too.

Joel made her sleep in her own room after that... that was a bummer, because she misses sleeping with him in his bed. He was always so warm, and made her feel more secure, and she misses that. _What is wrong with that?_ she asks herself. _Joel loves me and i love him back._ But maybe that is the problem now. Even though they're living in Jackson now, Joel still cares for her, and always makes sure that she is okay. He always treats her as a partner, and friend, never as a daughter. Even when some people think that he is like a father to her.

Ellie is thinking the same, even if he is not, but now she doesn't know what to think. Since her birthday a few months ago, something is starting to change in her feelings. And she doesn't know what it is, or how to act on them. _Okay, Ellie, stop being a wuss, and go in there - nothing has changed, right? He needs to wake up to go to work, and so do you. So just get in there and wake him up._ Ellie grabs the door handle and starts to get nervous, then she does a big exhale and opens the door.

Ellie starts to push the door slowly, trying not to make any sound. The room is dark, but not completely; she can still see inside. The morning light is entering through the curtain holes in the window, and that helps illuminate the room a little. Ellie moves in and closes the door behind her, then starts to walk slowly toward Joel's bed. As soon as Ellie gets close to the bed, she starts to look at Joel sleeping. Ellie doesn't know why she is doing this; she is supposed to wake him up, so why is she moving quietly in there? She continues until she gets close to the edge of the bed and sees Joel more clearly. Ellie tries to clear her head as some images come to her mind. But after a moment, she decides to tease him a little. He moves a little to the side and stops his snoring. Ellie freezes there for a moment when she thinks that he's going to see her standing there. But lucky for her, he just moves to the other side.

Ellie smiles a little as she thinks of what she is going to do. She moves into the bed and slowly gets behind Joel. He is so deep in his sleep that Ellie thinks that this is going to be easier than she thought. The morning is a little chilly, so Joel had covered himself with the sheet from the neck down to his feet. Ellie moves close from behind until her body is almost touching his. Then she moves one hand around his torso, and moves her head close to his. As soon as her mouth is close to his ear, she starts to whisper. " _Hey, big guy… it's time to wake up."_ She tries to hold her giggles as she continues. Joel stirs a little and mumbles something she doesn't understand. So she moves her hand on Joel's back, slowly gets down to his butt, and whispers again in his ear, " _C'mon, cowboy… Did you have fun… last night?"_ while she grabs his ass hard. She starts to giggle, but her face starts to get red as soon as she realizes what she just did. Then she moves away and pulls her hand away from him.

Joel opens his eyes wider and jumps away from the person behind him. As he continues to move back, he falls to the floor. He looks at the bed and sees Ellie sitting there, holding her stomach while she starts laughing hard. "Ellie?... what the hell!" he says, looking at her with a mad expression.

"I was just… trying to… wake… you up and...thought that… would be funny," she starts to say between her laughing.

"Well, that wasn't funny… and what are you doing in my room anyway?" says Joel, starting to get up from the floor.

"Sorry… like I said, I was going to wake you up for work… but I just found… the opportunity to mess with you." Ellie starts to move off of the bed when she sees Joel grabbing a pillow and throwing it at her, hitting her in the face.

"Very funny… if you wanted to wake me up, why didn't you just knock at the door?" says Joel, grabbing the other pillow from the bed.

"Well...where is the fun in that!" Then she grabs the pillow that Joel threw at her and moves off of the bed. "Ohhhh…ho, ho, you're on, mister!" Ellie jumps back to the bed and tries to hit Joel with the pillow, but he throws the one he has. When Ellie is distracted, he moves fast and grabs her by the legs, making her fall on the bed. Then he gets on top of her and grabs her hands, pressing them to the bed on either side of her head.

Ellie starts to kick and try to get him off, but she knows that Joel is stronger than her, and has to give up. Even though she is 19 now and bigger than before, she doesn't have a chance. "Hey, that's not fair!... you're bigger than me," she says to him while still gasping for air.

Joel lays down until his face is close to hers and smiles. "Well... war is never fair… and the stronger your opponent, the more difficult to win!... So you surrender now?" asks Joel, looking deeply into her eyes.

"Never!..." answers Ellie and starts to move again, and tries to get him off of her. After a few moments of trying, both of them stay still. Their faces are just inches away from each other. Ellie puts on a more serious face when she realizes the position they're in: Joel on top of her, pinning her on the bed. She can feel his whole body, and for some reason, it feels good.

They just stay there, looking at each other while time seems to pass slower. Joel's lips are so close to hers that Ellie almost thinks that he's going to kiss her. And she doesn't know why at that moment she almost wants him to do it. But as nothing happens, she decides that it's time to get away from that. So she clears her throat and speaks with a more serious voice. "Joel, you need to go to work… remember?"

Joel just looks at her like he's waking up from a trance. So he lets go of her hand and moves away from Ellie as quick as he can. "Right, work... Sorry!... umm, what time is it?" he asks as soon as he moves off of the bed and starts looking around for some clothes.

Ellie looks away from him, trying to hide the redness on her face. She doesn't know why she feels like that. It's like she just saw him naked or something like that. He's wearing long sleeping pants and a T-shirt. She's already seen him with less clothes than that, so why does she feel so embarrassed now? "Ummm… it's almost 10:00 am," she finally answers him.

"10:00?... shit... I'm supposed to be on the construction site at 10:00!" He starts to move faster and grab something to change into from his drawer. He passes Ellie on the way to the bathroom and looks at her. "What about you?... you don't have work today?" he asks before he gets inside the bathroom.

Ellie sits up on the edge of the bed and looks at him. "I just have to do 3 hours in the stables today. Then go to the center to help Mandy with the decorations for the party," she answers back.

"Oh, okay…" answers Joel, then he goes inside the bathroom and closes the door.

Ellie moves out of the room and stops in front of the door; she tries to say something, but doesn't find the words, so she decides that it's better to go to work. "Ummm... I need to go to work, too. So I'll change and go. I left a sandwich for you in the kitchen... Sooo, I'll see you at dinner… okay?"

"Sure, kiddo… thanks. I'll see you at dinner then."

Ellie goes back to her room and changes. When she passes in front of the bathroom again, she can hear the shower, so she continues walking toward the stairs, but stops before starting to go down. She turns her head and looks at the bathroom door. Ellie doesn't know why she starts to imagine Joel in there… naked!... _Shit, girl, what is wrong with you… come on, let's get out of here. Before this starts to get weird,_ she tells herself in her mind, then continues down the stairs and goes out of the house.


	3. Chapter 3 : Complications

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.  
**

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 **Chapter 3 : Complications**

(One hour later with Joel)

By the time Joel finishes, Ellie is gone. He found the food that Ellie left for him and ate it. Then he gets out of the house. On the way to the new construction site, he can't stop thinking about what happened this morning with Ellie, but he decides to leave that for later; now he needs to get back to work. Joel arrives at the site at 11:00 am, just one hour late. He's been working as a handyman and builder since they arrived at Jackson, and he also has some wall duty, and sometimes he goes with Tommy on scavenger trips or hunting. But he is glad to have something to do and keep his mind occupied. For the first time, he has the chance to do regular jobs and doesn't have to worry about infected or hunters that much.

Tommy is a good brother, even though they still have some minor verbal fights. Tommy welcomed him and Ellie with open arms. His sister-in-law was another thing. She didn't like him much in the beginning. She was afraid that he was going to be trouble, or hurt Tommy mentally again. But in time, he grew on her, through Ellie. Not like she became too close to him or liked him too much, but they understand each other better now. And she loves Ellie like she's her niece, or daughter, since she and Tommy don't have any children yet.

"Hey, Miller!... we thought that you weren't going to show up today," says one of the workers.

"Yeah.. we thought that you were hiding!" says another one.

"Hiding?... from who... am I going to be hiding?..." asks Joel, taken by surprise as soon as he gets close to his coworkers, not having any idea what they are talking about.

"From Maria..." says Matt, the leader of the group, smiling at him.

"Yeah… she came here like an hour ago, looking for you… and from her look, she was a little pissed at you," says one of the other men.

 _Fuck!..._ "I don't know why," says Joel with an innocent tone.

"Well, I don't know what Tommy and you did last night, but she said that he woke up sick this morning," says Matt.

"Ha - she shouldn't blame me for that. It ain't my fault if he can't hold his drink that much. Besides, if there's someone to blame, she should blame the guy that made that fucking liquor. That shit is going to kill someone one day." Joel smiles while the others start laughing. Joel is not popular with some of the people in Jackson, but he gets along well with the construction crew, as he's been working with them for 4 years.

"Okay, guys, break time is over - let's continue with the work. Maria wants this finished before the Halloween party," says Matt, looking at the group.

"Yes, boss!" they all say at the same time, then start to walk toward the building.

The place where they're working is a new storage unit that's going to protect the food supply better during the winter. As they almost lost half of the food last year when the old one broke during a storm, Maria decided to construct a new one.

Half an hour passes, and Joel and Matt are working on the roof while the others are working inside. "Hey, Joel, are you going to the party with someone?" Matt asks while he continues hammering some wood in place.

"Nahh…. I think I'll just go with Ellie like always. She likes all that stuff... I ain't much into that, except for the drinks.

"Ha - I heard a rumor that Nancy wants to invite you, so you two can go together."

"Who told you that… Tommy?" asks Joel, looking at him now.

"Sorry, man, but I can't reveal my source," says Matt, smiling.

"Well, I have no interest in going with her. She's only a person that I work with on the wall sometimes. So whoever told you that is wrong," says Joel while he continues with his work.

"Well, I think she like you… c'mon, why don't you give her a chance. Yeah, she's only 36, but she's a nice person, beautiful, funny, and she's good with the gun, too. I think she has a crush on you, but you know what, now that I think about it… she's too good for you."

"Why don't you shut up… you're starting to sound like Tommy. He too wants to hook me up with someone, and I'm not interested."

"And what's wrong with that?" asks Matt. Joel looks at him without answering.

(Three hours later with Ellie)

After Ellie finishes with the horses in the stables, she leaves. Ellie's work there is cleaning the horses and feeding them. She loves that work because it allows her to be close with them. Ellie found out that she loves horses the first time she came to Jackson with Joel, so working with them is the best job she can have. Ellie does other things, too, including wall watch, but sometimes, Joel doesn't like that very much. Even though she is more mature now and a better shooter, he doesn't like her being so exposed to any danger.

Half an hour later, Mandy comes to the stables and picks up Ellie. Now both of them are walking toward the community center. That's where the teens and other people are working with the decorations for the party. Mandy is her best friend; they became friends after the first year. But even though they talk a lot, Ellie never told her about her condition or all the things she and Joel did before they came to town.

At first, Ellie didn't want to be close to people, but Joel encouraged her to make some friends. In time, she made a few, and Mandy is one of them. There are other people in Jackson that still don't like her or Joel. But to the people that are her age, she makes it clear that if they don't fuck with her, she'll leave them alone, so some of them just keep their distance, scared of what Joel will do to them, or even Ellie herself.

Ellie thought at first that she was going to be distracted with the horses, but no. She is still thinking about what happened this morning in Joel's room when they started playing around. It was fun to piss off Joel when she was younger. She liked to think sometimes back then that they were like father and daughter. But now she's not even sure what to think about them. She knows that it was never like that, even when at first she thought that Joel was trying to replace his dead daughter with her.

He always treated her differently, just like she was more like a partner or a roommate. He never really treated her like a daughter, even when he always tried to protect her all the time. So now Ellie is so confused, she doesn't know what to do with the feelings that are growing inside her more and more.

"Okay, girl, are you going to tell me what's going on with you?" asks Mandy from nowhere, taking Ellie out of her long thoughts.

"Hum!… what!" Ellie turns her head to the side and looks at her.

"C'mon... I know that something's been bothering you for the last two weeks. You've been so distracted when we're together, or at work. So are you going to tell me what is wrong with you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about - I'm not distracted!" Ellie tries to be casual and not give her any hint about what's happening in her mind.

"It's a boy… isn't it?"

 _Fuck!..._ "WHAT!... No!... what makes you think that?" responds Ellie quickly.

"Well, I saw you go to dreamland when I started to talk about boys. So I assumed that had to be something with that.… Ummm, now I just need to know which one it is. I'm just dying to know who is the one that made the fearsome Ellie go so soft," Mandy says in a teasing and curious way.

"What the fuck are you talking about?... I'm not into any boy…" Ellie says, trying to hide her nervousness. _Well, Joel isn't a boy, so I'm not lying… fuck, move that out of your thoughts, girl._

"Ooookayyy… If you want to play that way. So who is he?... ummm. Is it Andrew?… James?... oh, maybe it's that nerdy guy, ummm... Justin? I think he likes you a lot. And I've seen you talking to him a few times."

"What!... no, no… I- I… just talk with him because his dad works with Joel. We're not even friends."

"Ummm… hum… Do you really think that I believe that!... I just-"

"Can you drop this already… I'm not into any boy…" Ellie stops as soon as they arrive at the center. "We're here, so why don't we just concentrate on the decorations and stop talking about all that."

"Okay, but I know that something is up with you. So we're definitely going to talk about that later, sister… you're not out of this yet," says Mandy, smiling and moving inside the building with Ellie.

Lucky for Ellie, the afternoon moves quickly that day. Ellie returns home at 5:30 pm and starts to make some dinner for Joel and her. Joel is lucky that Maria has started to teach Ellie how to cook for the past year, because before that, Joel was the one who had to cook in the house if they wanted to eat. Joel returns from work at 7:00 and sees that Ellie is making dinner, so he moves close to her.

"Ummm… that smells good!" he says behind her and looks at the food, almost resting himself on her back.

Ellie tries to hold herself as she feels Joel's body so close. _Why do I feel like this now? It's not like he's never been so close to me before._ Ellie tries to clear her mind before saying something. "Oh… thanks umm... It's almost ready so… why don't you go to… take a bath and… everything will be ready… by then," she starts to say, a little nervous now.

"Okay…" He moves away from her and goes up to take a shower while Ellie finishes with the dinner. He returns half an hour later and both of them sit at the kitchen table and have a nice dinner.

They talk a little during the dinner: Joel about his work with the guys, and Ellie about hers. Ellie is happy to see Joel talking about the guys that work with him, like they are some kind of friends. Ellie knows that he doesn't really trust anyone, not even here. He even told her a few times to keep her eyes open just in case. Also, it was fun to see Joel, after a few months in Jackson, try to scare away any boy that came close to Ellie. He even gave her the talk about boys and how they like to take advantage of girls with no experience. But he softened a little when she turned 18; he told her that if she finds a boy that she likes and makes her happy, he will try to be nice to him.

After dinner, they move to the living room and sit together on the couch and watch a movie. Joel borrowed Tommy's DVD player for a few days so he can watch some movies with Ellie at home. Maria let them take a few movies that she and Tommy had in their house. Ellie doesn't know why, but she likes to watch a lot of romantic movies. Joel doesn't like them much, but always stays with her and watches them. After the movie, Joel goes to prepare himself to cover his turn on the wall, so Ellie is left alone in the house.


	4. Chapter 4 : The Start of Something New

**Disclaimer** **:** **I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4 : The Start of Something New**

( A few days later)

In the last few days, Joel and Ellie have continued with their routine. Joel goes to his work and Ellie goes to hers. They come back home, have dinner, and sit on the couch to watch a movie. Sometimes they just sit there and talk about their day's work.

Things are looking fine for them like always. But what Ellie feels inside every time she's close to Joel is something she doesn't understand. She's been close to him for the last 5 years, since they met in Boston. But she never felt something like this before, and it's starting to worry her. She loves Joel, and he's been taking care of her all this time and always tries to make sure that she's happy here. But now, it feels like something different, something more, something new for her.

After Ellie goes to bed and Joel goes to his work on the wall, Ellie is on her bed, looking at the ceiling. It's 1:00 am and she can't sleep, thinking of Joel. The patrol saw a few people close to the town perimeter, so Maria has ordered more guards on the walls, just as a precaution. And that's been keeping Joel busy all week. Ellie's been trying to get some sleep since Joel left, but she can't because she can't stop thinking about this new feeling she has, and she doesn't know what it is.

Ellie is trying to get all that out of her mind, but what happened that day in Joel's room is still haunting her. Ellie's still feeling him on top of her, when he was pinning her on the bed. Having his face so close to hers at that moment, it felt like he wanted to kiss her, and she doesn't know why, but something inside of her wishes that he did. She closes her eyes and turns on her side, trying to forget everything, but she starts to feel something hot inside of her. _Shit! This is going to be a long night,_ Ellie says while covering her head with the pillow and screaming.

( Later that night with Joel)

Joel is standing on his post on the wall. He thanks God that nothing ever happens on the north part of the wall. Even if that part of the wall is just a few school buses put together and some barbed wire on the top; that way is going to be more difficult for intruders or infected to get in.

The tower where Joel is stationed isn't too tall, and even that has some light reflectors. They always try to keep the town as dark as possible because too much light at night can attract infected or hunters in the area. Joel is watching the forest in front of him, even though it's a little dark. The moon provides some light on the area.

Joel is a little distracted, and he can't stop thinking about Ellie and how she's been acting for the past few months. At that moment, Joel realizes that Ellie isn't a kid anymore… that she's become a beautiful young woman. Sometimes, Joel thinks that maybe it's time for her to find another kind of love. Joel doesn't know why all that makes his heart feel so sad and broken. He knew that one day it would happen.

But he doesn't want it to be this early; he knows that when that happens, he is going to lose her. He tries not to be so selfish, just like his decision in the hospital. He just wants to have her close a little longer, but he wants her to be happy, so if she finally finds someone, he will try to be happy for her. Joel continues watching the forest, but he's still so lost in thoughts that he doesn't notice that someone is climbing the base of the tower.

The woman that's been his partner on the wall for the last few months walks up behind him as soon as she gets to the top of the tower. She moves slowly behind him and puts her head close to his ear.

"Did you see something in the forest?" says the woman, then she sees Joel jump to the side as soon as he hears her voice.

"Fuck!... What the hell did you do that for? Are you trying to kill me?... I almost had a heart attack," says Joel as soon as he turns around and looks at the woman. Her name is Nancy; she arrived at Jackson a few months after Joel and Ellie came to the town. She was with a group of 5 people when she arrived at Jackson, but 3 of them died during the last 4 years, and the other 2 went out of town on a scavenger trip and never came back. So now, she lives alone in her house. For some reason nobody understands, she seems to like Joel a lot.

"What!..." she says while putting her hand on her waist and looking at him. "I thought that you didn't get scared that easy." She lowers her hand and moves close to him. "What are you doing here, anyway? You're not supposed to be working here today."

"I know, but I talked with Tommy and as I have some free time, he gave me some extra days to work on the wall," says Joel, turning around and putting his hand on the rail.

Nancy looks at him with curious eyes. "Yeah… Okay, now you're going to tell me the real reason why you're here?"

"What!... that is the real reason... I just-"

The woman moves and seats herself beside him, looking toward the forest. "C'mon… I know that you like to spend a lot of time with that girl of yours. So you want to tell me what she did that you don't want to be home?"

Joel turns his head and looks at her. "What makes you think that I'm here because of her?"

"Oh... really!... Everyone in this town knows how close you two are. And from the time we've been working here together, you always want to leave early because you don't want to leave her alone in your house." She looks at him, waiting for Joel to answer.

Joel turns and looks at the forest again. "Well, nothing is going on - Ellie and me are good. I was just thinking that since she's 19 now, her interests have changed," says Joel with a sad voice.

Nancy turns her head and looks at the forest again. "Oh, I see… so you're only afraid that she's going to find a boy and not have time for you?" She turns her head to the side and looks at him. "Well, I think that that's going to happen sooner or later. Kids always grow up and move on to do other things. But I'm sure that no matter what, she's always going to have time for you." She puts one hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know, I just… I ain't ready for that yet," he says, but doesn't look at her.

"Well, speaking of finding someone. Are you going to the party with her again this year? or she's going with someone else?... because if you're going alone, ummm. Maybe we can… go together… what do you think?" she asks, a little nervous.

Joel opens his eyes, surprised, but doesn't look at her. "Thanks for the offer, but we always go together. And as she didn't tell me that she's going with someone else, I think that we have that covered… sorry."

"Oh, okay… yeah… no worries. Anyway, we can see each other there. But if you change your mind, you know where to find me," she says with her face turning red. She is lucky about two things: that Joel isn't looking at her directly, and it's too dark.

(The next day)

Ellie is in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. She's feeling a little tired because she didn't sleep much the night before. Ellie spent the whole night tossing and turning in the bed, thinking of Joel and why he's been coming home late after his shift ends. It's 10:00 in the morning and Joel hasn't come out of his room yet. He's always the one in the kitchen waiting for her, but now they barely see each other.

Life in Jackson has been great for the past 4 years. All the accommodations, electricity, hot water, a soft bed, even security. Yeah, sometimes some assholes tried to attack the town, but all the people work together to defend the town. And aside from what happened with the Fireflies, Joel gave her something more to live on: he gave her love, a family, and a home - things that she never had before.

"Ahhh… Fuck! This is the third time this week!" Ellie moves her fingers away from the pan and puts them in her mouth to suck the burned finger (she was preparing some ham and eggs, but touched the pan with her finger).

Joel hears the scream coming from the kitchen while he's coming down the stairs. Joel goes down faster to see what happened. "Ellie!... are you alright?' he asks as soon as he enters the kitchen.

Ellie turns as soon as she hears his voice. She is glad to finally see his face after missing him all night. She just wants to run toward him and jump in his arms, but she has to tone that image down. "Yeah, I'm fine.. it's just a little burn." She puts her finger back in her mouth, and turns again to the stove and continues with the food.

Joel walks close to her, grabs her hand, and pulls it out of her mouth. "Let me see?"

Ellie turns when Joel takes her hand and starts to check her finger. "Joel, it's okay, it's not a big deal… it's just a little burn." She doesn't know why, but her face is red as Joel continues touching her hand. _What the fuck is wrong with me? Joel's touched me plenty of times before, so why does this feel different this time?_

Joel lets go of her hand when he notices that he's holding it for too long. "It seems okay… but maybe you should go to the doc to get that checked later, just in case." He looks at the pan and sees what Ellie is cooking. "Is that ham?... when did we get that?... I don't remember that it was time to get pig meat," Joel says, trying to change the subject.

Ellie looks at him with her _Really!_ face. "Joel, Maria ordered to kill 4 pigs last week and distribute the meat to all the people who wanted it. Well, to the ones that can eat it. Because there's still some people here that don't like pig meat."

Joel moves to the fridge and takes the juice out. Then he walks to the cabinet close to Ellie and grabs two glasses. After that, he walk to the kitchen table and sits, putting the jar with the juice and the two glasses on it. Ellie already has two plates there for them. "Why are you still here? It's past 10:00... don't you have work today?" Joel asks while he pours the juice into the glasses.

Elle takes the pan off the stove and walks toward the table. "Nope, it's my free day." She gets close to Joel and puts the two eggs and ham on his plate. "Here, just like you like them. And I didn't burn them this time," she says, smiling at him and moving away. Ellie comes back a few minutes later with hers and sits at the table, opposite of Joel.

Joel grabs the fork and kitchen knife and taste the first bite of the food. "Ummm… wow... you did good this time... this tastes delicious," says Joel, looking at her while he takes another bite.

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it…" She smiles at him, but then lowers her head and continues eating. "Ummm… the Halloween party is going to be in a few days… are you ready?" she asks without looking at him.

"Oh… yeah, the party… well… yeah, as ready as I can be. You know that I don't like those much." Joel grabs the glass and drinks some juice. "I don't even know why they call it that."

"Well, it's just a party for people to have some fun, so who cares what it's called," she says in a hard tone. "Anyway, I was thinking that maybe… I can-"

"Go with someone else?" Joel finishes for her.

"What!... no… that's not what I was going to say… why do you say that?" She puts the fork down and looks at him firmly.

"I don't know… I've been hearing rumors that you have… someone… to go to the party with."

"What!... I don't have anyone!… Joel, we always go together - why would I want to go with someone else?" answers Ellie, more irritated.

"Yeah, I know that… but you're an adult now, so I thought that maybe you'd like to go with someone more your age… you know."

"I don't want to go with someone else, Joel!... so why… wait!... are you trying to ditch me so _you_ can go with someone else?"

"No!... I never said that… well, someone asked me… I think. I told her that I was going with you. But if you want to go… with some el-"

"Oh… I see…." Ellie looks at him with a furious expression. "Who is she?"

"Why do you want to know? I already said no to her." Joel looks at her face and knows that he made a mistake.

"Because I want to know… who you want to go with to the party that isn't me." Ellie is gripping the fork like she wants to break it in two. She doesn't know why she feels like that. Joel isn't hers, at least not like that… right?

"I never said that I wanted to go with her, I just-"

Ellie looks at him, and even though it hurts, it's better to end the discussion there. "Fine… you want to go with her, go ahead… Yeah, I forgot that someone asked me, too. So maybe I'll go with him." Ellie stands up, walks toward the sink, and puts the plate inside. She walks to the living room and grabs her jacket.

"Hey… where are you going?" asks Joel, standing up, too.

"Well, I'm going out… I have work to do." She walks toward the door and opens it, then turns to him. "You know the rule - if I cook, you clean," says Ellie before going out and slamming the door behind her.

Joel looks at the door that Ellie just used. "Shit!... what the hell was that?... and she said that she doesn't have work today."


	5. Chapter 5 : The party

**Disclaimer** **:** **I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5 : The Party**

A few days have passed. All the preparations for the party are finished: the food, the decorations, and the music. All of Jackson is ready to start; this is one of the bigger parties they have in Jackson. Even though people don't dress in costumes anymore, that doesn't mean that they can't enjoy it.

Ellie is still a little pissed because it seems like Joel wants to go with another person, even when Joel has tried to tell her for the last few days that he doesn't want to go with anyone else. Ellie doesn't even know why she's pissed about that. But somehow, she doesn't want him to go with someone else - she is the one that's supposed to dance with him.

Ellie is in her room, trying on her new dress that she traded for at the town store. Even though she has enough clothes to wear, she wants to try something special… Ellie is in front of the mirror she has in her room. She's still in her underwear, looking at herself and all the scars she has on her body. She is taller and her body is more formed now than when she first arrived at Jackson. But looking at herself in the mirror, she doesn't look as sexy as she wants to be. Her breasts are still a little small, and she doesn't have too many curves to show off. Ellie didn't care about that when she was younger, but now she wishes to have more. That way, maybe Joel would notice her better. She looks at her face and sees the scar on her right brow. She moves her hand and passes some fingers over it, trying not to remember how she got that. Then she looks at her arm, looking now to the faded bite scar on it. She has some other little scars on her body, but that one is the one that changed her life forever.

After a few minutes, Ellie walks to her bed, takes the dress in her hands, and goes back to the mirror. Ellie puts the dress in front of her and starts to look in the mirror to see how it looks on her. The dress is completely red; it's knee-length with a modest neckline, open in the back. Also, it has long sleeves, and that helps her with the remnants of the scar on her arm. Even though it's not very visible now, she doesn't much like people seeing it. She continues watching the dress in the mirror and starts thinking if Joel is going to like it or think that it's much too sexy for her.

When Ellie finishes with the dress, she puts it back on the bed. Then she looks at the other things she's going to use for the party while waiting for Nancy to arrive. Her friend is coming to help her with her hair and with a few other things, so she puts her normal clothes back on and stays in her room, waiting. Ellie starts to think about Joel, trying to guess what he's going to wear tonight, as he didn't tell her. But, sadly for Ellie, they haven't been talking much for the last few days, except for regular things.

Ellie is laying on the bed with her eyes closed, trying to figure out what is happening to them. Why they're so distant now... everything was great a few weeks ago, and now, she doesn't know. Ellie looks at the dress again and starts to feel something inside again. She doesn't know what it is, but it's been getting stronger since that morning in Joel's room. She remembers feeling something similar when she was with Riley. But that was another kind of love, even if it was for a short time, before destiny took her away. But why now has she been feeling the same thing… for Joel. That's when Ellie starts to realize… that maybe the reason for feeling like that is because she's starting to fall in love with him. But how is that even possible, or why?

Ellie's never seen him as a father, just more like a partner or friend. But now she can't stop thinking about him. Since they played on the bed, she's been feeling something different inside of her. Something that was asleep… and now has awakened again. Seeing his face so close and feeling his body on top of hers made her feel something. Something that made her realize how much she needs him... how much she wanted him to kiss her.

 _What is wrong with me - is this what I really want?... is this even possible? This is different from what I felt with Riley. I loved her and she was close to my age… But Joel?... With him, it's different... not only is he a man - he's older. So how is this going to work? Even if I don't care about his age, what are people going to think about all this? Yeah, they're going to think that he is a sick man that likes to take advantage of young girls, even if that's not true. But what about him?... can he love me like that?... what is he going to think of all this if I tell him what I feel for him? Maybe he only loves me like a daughter and nothing more. Shit! Now this is going to make me feel worse. I love him and I can't take that back now. What am I going to do if he doesn't love me like that... just pretend that nothing happened? That I don't have these feelings for him?... Fuck!... This is going to haunt me all night._ Ellie is taken out of her thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Hey, kiddo, is everything okay in there?" asks Joel on the other side of the door.

"Yeah… yeah, everything's fine. I was only checking my dress and waiting for Mandy," she answers while wiping some tears from her eyes.

"Well... she's in the living room, so I will go down and tell her to come up, okay?... After that, I'm going to take a shower and prepare myself to go." With that, Joel moves away and goes downstairs. As soon as he gets to the living room, he tells the girl that Ellie is waiting for her in her room.

The girl smiles and starts walking toward the stairs, but turns before going up. "Thanks, Mr. Miller, and don't worry - I will make Ellie look so good that all the boys at the party are going to dance with her this year." Then she continues up and goes to Ellie's room.

" _Yeah, that is what worries me,"_ says Joel in a lower voice.

(Two hours later)

Joel is in his room, ready to go. He is waiting for Ellie to finish dressing; he guesses that Mandy went home to get herself ready an hour ago, so he doesn't know why Ellie is taking so long. They're supposed to be at the party by now, because it started a few hours ago. Joel looks at the clock again and takes a deep breath. He's still thinking about what Ellie said about going to the party with a boy. He's hoping that the guy never shows up at his door to take Ellie away. He stands in front of the mirror he has in his room, looking at the reflection of his face. Looking at how old he is now, and trying to figure out why it bothers him so much that someone is going to take Ellie away from him. He should not feel like this, because Ellie is now an adult. She can make her own decisions now, and he is not her father, or anything else. Even though he loves her in a way, they're nothing more than partners. Joel takes another deep breath and walks to the door, hoping that Ellie is ready by now. _Okay, Joel, you can do this... it's not a big deal, just another stupid party that people like to go to,_ he says to himself before opening the door. As soon as he gets out of his room, he walks until he's in front of Ellie's room. Her door is still closed, so he takes another deep breath before knocking on it. "Ellie!... are you ready?" he asks on the other side of the door, but Ellie doesn't answer. "Ellie… we need to get going... we're already late!" He doesn't really care, but knows that he needs to go anyway.

After a few minutes, Ellie answers. "Just give me a minute… I'll be right out."

Joel hears Ellie walking toward the door. He moves back a little as he sees the door open. As soon as he sees Ellie standing in the door frame, looking at him, he is speechless. "What!... how… why… ummm… You're going like this to the party?" he starts as his brain starts to register what he is seeing.

"What do you mean... Do I look bad?... you don't like it?" says Ellie, looking at herself desperately trying to find what is wrong with the dress or herself.

Joel looks at her in shock and doesn't know what to say. She is wearing a red dress that clings tightly to her body, showing part of her neck and her legs. The dress is beautiful, and makes her look more like a woman. Her hair is tied in the back in a small top knot, and her face has a little makeup, too… but not too much, and her lips are a light red color. "No… no, no... there's nothing wrong with it... it's just that you look so… do you need to do all this for just a party?" Joel asks, trying to take his mind away from Ellie's body.

Ellie stops checking the dress and looks at him, a little mad. "Wow… is that your best compliment... Because it really sucks!" says Ellie, putting her hands on her hips.

 _Fuck... great job, Joel, now she is going to be pissed at you. "_ Sorry, kiddo, it's just that I've never seen you in a dress like that… and you look so different… and." _Yeah, continue with that, asshole, and she will be going out of this house sooner than you thought._

"Well, I have to make some changes if I want to attract someone… but you are right, it's better if we get going - the party must be started by now. Maria and Tommy must be waiting for us." Ellie moves, passing Joel and starting to walk down the stairs. Joel follows her, and as soon as he notices her back, where the dress has a big opening that almost gets close to her ass… he tries not to look, but something inside of him starts to imagine things.

They arrived at the party half an hour later. They didn't talk much on the way there. Joel had to put a jacket on her before they left the house, to protect her from the cold (although that was just an excuse to cover her back). When they arrived at the party, it was at a high level... the music was loud and people were having a good time. Some people were dancing, and others were eating and talking.

Joel and Ellie walked toward Maria and Tommy's table and sat down. While Maria made some compliments on Ellie's dress and appearance, Tommy moved close to Joel and asked him why she was dressed like that. Then Tommy started to tease Joel about Ellie having a boyfriend and that she was going to dance with him tonight. Joel didn't look too happy about that. After a few minutes, Ellie tried to take Joel up for dance, as she watched Maria and Tommy move to the center floor and start dancing. But Joel insisted that he didn't know how to dance, and he preferred to get a few drinks at the bar.

One hour later, a few of Ellie's friends arrived, including Mandy and her boyfriend, so she moved away from the table and went to talk to them. Tommy and Maria come back to the table after dancing for a while and talking with other town citizens. "Hey, where's Ellie - did you go and dance with her yet?" asks Tommy as soon as he sits down.

"Nah… I don't want to embarrass her in front of her friends. I just prefer to stay here and watch and drink," says Joel, taking a sip of the local beer.

"Well, she will find someone to dance with soon enough. With that dress!... I wouldn't be surprised if she gets a boyfriend today, too. And also, have her first adult dance or her first kiss, if she hasn't done that already," says Maria, looking at Joel and giving him a wink. Joel almost chokes on the beer while he gives Maria a hard look.

Tommy takes the opportunity to start to tease Joel again. Yeah, Joel, are you ready for that?... I mean, when Ellie comes to the house with a boy… I just hope you don't end up beating up the poor guy on their first date." Tommy starts to laugh a little, but Joel doesn't find it all that amusing; he stands up from the table and moves away. "Hey, where are you going… I was just kidding!" Joel doesn't say anything, and continues walking toward the bar to get something stronger.

As soon as he gets to the bar, he asks for the strongest drink they have there. When the bartender gives him the glass, he takes a sip and almost chokes. _Shit, this thing is really strong,_ he says to himself, then turns and looks at the table where Ellie is with her friends. He sees a boy sitting close to her, with one arm around her shoulder, laughing. That makes him think about what Maria and Tommy just said about Ellie having a boyfriend. He doesn't know why, but just thinking about that makes him jealous. He drinks the rest of the liquor in the glass in one gulp, then turns around and asks the bartender for another one.

As soon as the man gives him another one, he sees a person approach and stop beside him. "What's your poison, cowboy?"


	6. Chapter 6 : Ellie and Joel's first kiss

**Disclaimer :** **I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6 : Ellie and Joel's first kiss**

Joel turns his head to the side and looks at the person who's speaking. To his surprise, it's the woman from work. "Hey, Nancy... I didn't know you were coming," he says, taking another sip of his drink.

Nancy laughs a little, then looks at him. "Are you kidding me?... I think all of Jackson is here tonight. Also, I told you a few days ago that I was coming to the party, remember?" She smiles, then looks at the bartender. "Give me the same as what he's having." The guy moves to the other side of the counter and a few moments later, he gives her the drink. After she takes it, she looks at Joel again. "Did you come with Ellie… again?" she asks, taking a sip of the drink. But as soon as it passes her throat, she almost chokes on it. _Cough, cough…_ "Shit!... what the hell is this?"

"What!... you never drank this before?" asks Joel while he takes another sip of his.

 _Cough, cough…_ "Not… this… strong!" she answers with some difficulty, but after a moment, she recovers. "Anyway... urrgg… are you enjoying… the party?"

"Not really, but the drink is good… well, after you get used to it." Joel gives her a small smile and takes another sip. "I just always come because Ellie likes it," says Joel, now looking at the table where Ellie is.

Nancy looks at him, then at the table where Ellie is with her friends. "Well, at least she's having a good time… I don't know... maybe you should try to do the same."

"I've never liked parties… not even before this world went to shit." He looks at her with some curiosity. "What about you? Did you come with someone?"

"Nah… but I was hoping to find someone here. So maybe we can dance a little and have a good time." She turns and gestures to the bartender to give her another drink.

(Half an hour later)

Ellie is talking and laughing with her friends. She tries to be good company for tonight, but inside her mind, she's only thinking of Joel. She searches for him at the table where they were sitting with Maria and Tommy, but after a few minutes, they were the only ones sitting there. _Shit, where did he go?... did he go back home?... I don't think he would do that and leave me here by myself... Or did he?_ A lot of questions start to run through her mind, but she's taken out of them when she hears a voice calling her name.

"Ellie... Ellie!... are you okay," says a young boy on the other side of the table.

"Hum?" Ellie looks up and sees a young man standing there. "Ummm… Justin… right?"

"Yeah… that's me. Sorry I'm a little late, but my mom wanted me to take care of my little sister until she came back from her turn on the wall," says the young man calmly.

"Oh, it's okay, Justin, nothing interesting has happened so far... But the night's still young… Isn't that right, Ellie?" says Mandy, poking Ellie in the side.

Ellie stops looking for Joel and turns to look at the boy again. "Yeah, nothing's happened so far."

The young man looks at her with fascinated eyes. He is a year older than Ellie, but he's had a crush on her since she arrived with Joel at Jackson. "Hey, you look… ummm… beautiful…" ' _cough_ ' "I mean, great… nice." His face starts to turn red while he tries to stop his incoherent talk.

Ellie looks at him, not knowing how to answer that. "Ummm... thanks!?" she answers, then looks away and continues looking for Joel.

"Yeah… no problem. Ummm, I've never seen you in a dress before. You've never worn one like this at any of the parties." He takes a chair from another table and sits in front of Ellie.

Mandy is trying not to laugh in front of Justin as she watches how he's trying to hit on Ellie, but failing. She thought he was the one that Ellie's been dreaming of, but now that she sees all this - and how Ellie is acting around him - she knows that nothing is happening between them. It's just a one way thing for Justin. She's always known that Justin likes Ellie, so that's why she thought it was him. But after tonight, it has to be someone else. "Okay, this is getting boring. I want to dance… umm, anyone want to dance with us?" she asks, grabbing her boyfriend's arm.

"We do," answer two of their other friends that are sitting at the table.

Ellie doesn't even want to listen to Mandy right now. Yes, she wants to dance, but the only person she wants to do that with is Joel. Ellie doesn't know why, but she wants this party to be special. She wants to have a good time with Joel... dance, eat; even have a few drinks, since she is an adult now. She is sure that they can't say no, if she asks for one. But she's wondering what went wrong. Every time they come to a party, she is with him, having a good time, so why not today? He seems to be avoiding her since they arrived, and now she doesn't know where he went.

"Hey!... Ellie. What about you?" Ellie turns and looks at her, clueless. "I'm talking about dancing. Don't tell me that you put on that beautiful dress to just stay sitting in here?"

"I'm not really in the mood for that right now, I just-" She stops when Mandy grabs her arm and stands up from the chair.

"Okay, I need to go to the restroom, and you're coming with me," she says in a polite tone.

"What?... I don't need to go to-"

Mandy pulls her up and looks at the others. "Oh… Don't worry, it's just a girl thing... we'll be back shortly." She smiles at her boyfriend and the others. They look at her with some curiosity, but she just smiles at them. "C'mon, girl… I will need your help," she says, dragging Ellie in the direction of the restroom.

Joel is finishing his fifth drink when he notices that one of Ellie's friends is dragging her in the direction of the restrooms. As soon as he sees that, he starts to remember the time he was in school... when girls liked to do that - when they wanted to talk about boys. _I'm just going to lose her, I know._ He can't stop thinking about that, but why? He knew that this was going to happen sooner or later. He knows that he's being selfish again, just like he was in that Firefly hospital. He can still hear Marlene's words: _This is what she wanted, and you know it._ _How much longer do you think you can protect her?_ He wants to protect her forever, but will he be able to do that? He doesn't know why he feels so jealous. He is snapped out of his thoughts when the woman puts a hand on his shoulder. He turns his head and looks at her; he forgot for a moment that Nancy was still there.

"Are you alright?... you seem like this thing is getting to your head… So maybe it's better if you-"

"No!... I'm okay… it's just… that I have a lot on my mind."

"You need to relax a little, Joel… Don't worry about your girl - she's going to be fine." Nancy takes her last sip of her drink and puts the glass on the counter. "Okay, I know what you need - let's go." She grabs his arm and starts pulling him to the center of the hall, where some villagers are dancing.

(With Ellie and Mandy)

The door of the women's restroom opens violently as Mandy pushes it, pulling Ellie inside. She starts to look under the toilet stall doors to see if there is anyone in there. "Okay, there's no one here." Then she moves toward the door and locks it.

Ellie looks surprised at her actions. "What the hell are you doing?... why did you lock the door?... people are going to come here to-"

"I just need some place to talk in private," she says, moving close to Ellie.

"I don't understand?... why did you bring me here to talk?... We can do that at the table." Ellie looks at her with curiosity.

"Because I know that something is wrong with you. And you're not going to talk in front of the others. And I want to know what is going on with you lately."

"What!... I don't know what you're talking about... nothing is going on with me."

"Ahhh... C'mon… I was in your house, helping you to look like this. A sexy dress, makeup, I even did your hair!... you've never done this before," she says while pointing at her. "I know that you're doing this for someone. I thought that it was Justin, since he's crazy about you. But I see that you haven't even looked at him since he arrived here. So it has to be someone else," she says firmly.

"Really!… you brought me here just to talk about that?... I already told you that I'm not interested in any boy. So why don't you stop asking me that, and leave me alone?" Ellie starts to get frustrated with this. She doesn't want to lie to her, but she isn't really, because she's not into any boy. Mandy is her best friend, but she can't tell her about Joel. She can't tell anyone about what she's feeling… for Joel. No one is going to understand… she can't even understand it herself. Ellie turns as she starts feeling some tears forming in her eyes. The last thing she wants is for her best friend to see her cry, so it's better to get out of there. Ellie starts to walk toward the door when she feels Mandy grabbing her arm.

"C'mon, Ellie… I want to help you," she forces her to turn and look at her. "Why don't you want to talk to me? I'm your best friend. I know that something is wrong, and if it's not about a boy? then it's something else." She looks in Ellie's eyes and sees some tears forming. "You've been acting strange and lost for the past few weeks. So I know that something is bothering you. Did someone do something to you?... I mean, maybe som-"

"What!?..." Ellie is surprised with that question. "No!... nobody's done anything -shit, what makes you think that? I don't want to talk about this anymore. So if you want to help me, stop asking me these stupid questions... okay?"

"I'm sorry… I don't want you to feel bad about this, but if something happened to you, I want to know… so that way, I can help you." Mandy lets go of Ellie's arm when Ellie grabs her to make her let go.

"There's nothing wrong with me… so please just stop asking-" She stops when someone starts to knock at the door.

"Hey!... who the fuck locked the door?" someone yells from outside. "Whoever is in there, just open it - there's a lot of people here that need to use the restroom." Ellie takes the opportunity to move away from Mandy and unlock the door. When the door opens, a bunch of girls start to go inside.

"What the hell is going on here?... why did you two lock the door?" one of the girls starts to ask furiously, but Ellie moves quickly and goes out of the restroom before Mandy tries to stop her.

Ellie is running down the corridor that leads to the restrooms with some tears coming out of her eyes. She needs to go back to the party and find Joel. This was supposed to be the best night of her life, but turned out to be the worst. Not because of the conversation she had with Mandy or the things she put in her mind about someone doing something to her. But Joel's been ignoring her since they arrived. Ellie gets back into the hall's main room, where the party is, and starts to look for Joel.

Ellis looks toward the table where Tommy and Maria are, but she doesn't see Joel there. She starts looking around. Ellie needs to find him so they can get out of there and go back home, so she moves to the bar, trying to find Joel, but when she looks at the dance floor, she sees him. Ellie's eyes go wide as soon as she sees Joel dancing with another woman. _No!... this can't be happening to me!.._. _he doesn't want to dance with me but does it with another woman._

The first thing she wants is to go there and beat the hell out of that fucking woman. But what good can that do? Then she sees the woman move her head toward him. Just like she is going to kiss him. "NOOOOO!" Ellie screams, then she starts to run out of the hall as fast as she can. Tears are dropping from her eyes.

"Hey, you lied to me… you said that you can't dance, cowboy, but you ju-" Nancy is saying in his ear while they keep dancing.

Joel turns around as soon as he hears someone screaming. He looks around and sees Ellie running away from the place. _Shit!... something must have happened._ Joel pushes Nancy away a little, then lets go of her. "Sorry, but I need to go," he tells her and starts to move quickly toward the door.

"What!... wait… Joel, where are you going?... is something wrong?" Nancy starts to ask while she watches him run out of the building without saying anything more.

Joel runs out of that place as fast as he can. He needs to find Ellie fast. He saw the hurt on her face when she looked at him dancing with Nancy. That's a mistake that he needs to fix… fast!

(One hour later)

Joel looked for her everywhere, but he doesn't know where she went. He can't go to her friends' houses since all of them are at the party. _Fuck!.. How stupid I was... I didn't even want to dance with Nancy!_ He starts to remember Ellie's look, and he knows how Ellie felt when she thought that he wanted to go to the party with another person. _Okay, I don't think I'm going to find her in this darkness, so it's better to go back home and get a flashlight or something._

Joel walks toward their house, knowing that he needs to find her tonight and explain to her what happened at the party. After 15 minutes, he arrives at his house and sees that everything is dark inside. He opens the door and closes it behind him. He moves toward the switch to turn the light on when he hears a whispering voice.

"Don't!"

Joel moves forward a little and looks at the couch. The living room is dark but he still sees the shadowy figure of Ellie sitting in there. "Ellie!... Jesus, I was looking for you everywhere. I was so worried, and-"

"Do you... love her?" Ellie asks in a lower, sad voice.

"If I love… who?" Joel answers, trying to think of what Ellie is referring to. But as soon as he remembers that she saw him with Nancy, he knows. "You mean Nancy?"

"Yes… the one you were kissing at the party," she says without lifting her head.

"Kissing!?… Ellie, I didn't kiss her, I was jus-"

She sobs as some tears roll down her cheek. "Dancing with her… yeah, I saw that. And the kiss, too, so stop lying," she interrupts him.

Joel moves closer to her. "Ellie, I ain't lying… I didn't kiss her - I don't like her like that… we're just partners on the wall... She is only a person that I work on the wall with. Maybe it's better if I turn the light on so we can talk." Joel touches the switch and turns the light on. Now he can see Ellie sitting on the couch, still wearing the red dress. He moves to sit close to her, but she just stands up and walks away.

She turns and looks at him. "This was supposed to be our special day. You were supposed to dance with me and have a good time, and now all that is ruined. You didn't even want to be with me there," she says with another sob and some tears running out.

Joel can see now that she's been crying for a long time. He doesn't know why she's taking all this like that, and the last thing he wants is to make her cry. "Ellie, I'm so sorry... Of course I wanted to be with you there. And of course I wanted to dance with you and have a good time. Like we did at the the other ones."

"Then why didn't you?" she asks sadly, looking at him now.

"I don't know... I just thought that you wanted to be with your friends. When I saw you in that dress, I thought that a boy was coming to pick you up. And that you wanted to dance with him and be with your friends." Not that he likes to think on that too much. "You're a young woman now, so I wanted you to have a good time. Not being stuck with an old man like me... that's why I moved away. I went to the bar and had a few drinks. I think that I had too many, because I don't even remember how Nancy dragged me to the dance floor."

Ellie looks at him; she wants to be mad at him, but she can't… well, she is, but not at the level she's supposed to be. "I just wanted to dance with you tonight. I didn't want to do it with someone else," she says in a lower voice.

Joel looks at her and knows that at least he can do something for her. "Well, that is something I can fix." Joel smiles at her, then moves to the little radio they have in the house. He turns it on and puts a CD in it, then moves close to Ellie, who is standing in the center of the living room. He extends his hand to her and asks, "Hey... Beautiful lady, can you give me the honor of this dance?"

Ellie giggles a little and takes his hand. Joel moves her into position and puts his other hand on her waist. As the music starts on the CD player, Joel starts moving her around. The song is a slow one, so that's easier for both them to follow the pace. After a few minutes, Ellie puts her head on his chest. She can feel his heart beating so hard, so fast, and she loves it.

Joel feels Elie hug him, sobbing into his shirt. "I am so sorry for all that, Ellie. The last thing I want in this world is to hurt you. I didn't know that you wanted to spend this night with me. But I want to let you know that you are the only woman in my life." He doesn't know why he said that, but he can feel Ellie smiling on his chest. And that makes him happy.

Ellie doesn't remember how long they were dancing... she doesn't even hear the music anymore. But for some reason, she feels happy. She feels happy to have Joel in her arms, and so close to her. So when the music stops, she lifts her head from his chest and looks into his eyes. He is looking at hers, too. Ellie can't figure it out, but she sees something in him... something she didn't see before, and in that moment, she wants to kiss him, just like she wanted to do on the bed when they were playing a few days ago.

Ellie moves close to him without taking her eyes away from him. And without noticing, her lips are on his. Both of them close their eyes as the kiss gets deeper. She can't believe that she is kissing him and that he's kissing her back. Ellie feels so happy and warm as she shares her first kiss with Joel.


	7. Chapter 7 : How deep is your Love

**Disclaimer : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

* * *

 **Chapter 7 : How deep is your love**

 ***Two weeks later***

Ellie is laying in her bed, looking at the ceiling. Her mind is a mess, sadness filling her as she is in battle between her soul and heart. She feels hurt and heartbroken every time she remembers the party, especially the part when she and Joel were back home… and they talked, danced, and... kissed! Ellie moves one hand and passes the fingers over her lips. After two weeks, she's still feeling his lips there. The feeling was so good, until everything became so painful. After their kiss, as Joel moved away from her, she saw how he looked at her. It was like he did something bad, something that he should not have done. And that wasn't the bad part. After that, he went to his room without saying anything, and closed the door, leaving Ellie in shock.

Ellie tried to talk to him the next day, but when she woke up and looked for him, he was gone. Ellie looked for him everywhere, and when she didn't find him, she decided to go to Tommy's to ask him if he knew where he was. As soon as she got there, Maria opened the door, and when Ellie told her that she needed to talk to Tommy, she told her that Tommy was out of town on a scavenger trip and that he was coming back in a few days. When Ellie asked her if she knew where Joel was or if she'd seen him, Maria told her that Joel went with Tommy on that trip.

Ellie doesn't understand why Joel went out of town like that and didn't tell her. He came back 3 days later, and when Ellie tried to get an explanation on why he went out of town without talking to her, he only told her that Tommy needed the help and he volunteered to go with him. Ellie has tried to find out what was wrong with him, but every time she tries to talk to him, he just simply changes the subject or goes out of the house. After a week, it starts to hurt, because she doesn't get why he's acting like that. Ellie knows that it has to do with the kiss they shared, and that's hurting her more.

To make things worse, Mandy tried to talk to her again. She tried to apologize for what happened at the party, but continued asking her if something was wrong or if someone did something to her. ( _Of course something's wrong… I kissed Joel and now he's not talking to me or wanting to look me in the eye. And that hurts because... it's breaking my heart… because I love him.)_ But she can't tell her that... she can't tell anybody that she is in love with Joel, and not in the way they think. Now it's been two weeks of all this painful drama, and she can't continue like this. She's been trying to talk to Joel again for the last few days to try to know why he is acting the way he does. But he's been taking extra shifts on the wall, and not being at home much. But that is going to end today. Ellie needs answers, and she is going to get them, no matter what happens after that.

Ellie has decided to talk to him today and get all of this cleared up. She hasn't even been able to sleep well for the last two weeks. She's not talking with her friends much, or concentrating on her work. Ellie knows that he's always been like this, since they met. Always trying to hide his feelings, or not talking about them. But she needs to know, and this time, he is not going to escape from her. So Ellie gets out of bed and dresses early in the morning. She goes downstairs to make sure that his things are in the kitchen, where he always puts them. It's still dark outside, so that means that he's still in the house, because he always goes out before she wakes up. She knows that the only way to catch him is to get up before he does.

Ellie goes to the kitchen and sees his work tools in the corner, close to the fridge. _Oh, good, he's still here_. She was going to check his room first, but it was better this way. So Ellie moves to the kitchen table and sits there. His things are close to the door, so he needs to go this way to leave for work. _So no escape now._ Ellie sits with her eyes closed, not knowing how long she's been sitting in there or what time it was when she came down. She opens her eyes as soon as she hears some noises upstairs... that means that Joel is awake. Ellie crosses her arms in front of her chest and waits for him to come down. After 20 minutes of waiting, she finally hears him coming down the stairs. Ellie can feel her heartbeat get faster, but she tries to keep herself calm. As soon as Joel enters the kitchen and switches the light on, Ellie speaks. "We need to talk!"

Joel jumps a little as soon as he hears her voice, surprised to see Ellie sitting at the table. "Jesus Christ!... Ellie, do you want to give me a heart attack?" Ellie doesn't answer that, but the look on her face is clear to him. _Fuck, she is mad at me again and I don't have time for this now_. Joel stops looking at her and starts walking toward the corner where he put his tools yesterday. "What are you doing sitting in the dark like that?... Ain't you supposed to be sleeping?... it's too early to be up, don't you think?" he starts to ask when he passes by her at the table.

Ellie never takes her eyes off of him, making sure that he sees her mad expression. She's been sad for the last two weeks, but now she is just pissed. "Are you serious?... you're the last person that should be asking me that. And the reason why I'm here is because we need to talk," she says with a louder voice.

Joel turns to look at her with a surprised expression. "Talk about what?… Look, whatever this is, can we do it later? I need to be at work, and-"

"This can't wait for later, Joel!… I've already been waiting to talk with you for the last two weeks. So now you're going to stay here so we can do that. I want an explanation and you're not going anywhere until I get it."

Joel moves away again. "What explanation?.. look, I don't have time for this, Ellie, and I really have to- what the hell!..." Joel looks at the place where he put his tools but they're not there. He turns again and looks at Ellie, who is still sitting at the table. "Did you take my tools?"

Ellie just smirks at him. "I already told you that you're not going anywhere before we talk," says Ellie, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Ellie, I don't have time for this… just tell me where they are and-" Joel starts to look around, trying to find them.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ellie says with a sad tone now.

"What?" Joel looks at her, surprised.

Her mad expression changes to one of sadness. "Are you mad at me?" Ellie lowers her head and looks at the top of the table, scared to look at him when he answers her question.

"Mad?... For what reason would I be mad at... you?" _Oh... Ellie, don't you know that I'm never going to be mad at you._

"Because you've been avoiding me for the last two weeks. I know that it's because of what happened after the party. And I've been trying to talk to you about it, but you're never here now to do it," Ellie says, looking at him sadly now.

Joel looks at her, not knowing what to say to her. _Why does she think that? That wasn't your fault, baby girl. I am the one who's ashamed of what I did._ He wants to forget that night that's been torturing him for the past two weeks. And by Ellie's looks, this has been bothering her, too. _So this is it? This is going to be the end of our relationship?_ Of course he doesn't want that; he loves Ellie more than anything. That is why he's been trying to let this go away and not wanting to talk about it. Joel starts to walk toward the living room.

Ellie follows him with her eyes. "That's it?... that's all you're going to say?" she asks sadly.

Joel turns around and looks at her. "What do you want me to say?"

"ANYTHING!... or something that can explain all this." Ellie gets up from the chair and walks toward him. "Fuck, Joel!… you always do the same… always try to keep things down inside of you and don't want to talk about it. Then, guess what - I'm sick of that. So we are going to talk or I'm going to get out of this house… because all this is hurting me."

Joel lowers his head and looks at the floor. The last thing he wants is for Ellie to leave him. "I'm so sorry, kiddo. What I did was a mistake… I shouldn't have done that. The last thing I wanted to do is hurt you."

"Then why are you doing it right now?... do you think that I'm upset because of the kiss? Or that was the reason why I feel so hurt?"

"Ellie… what I did was wrong. I'm supposed to take care of you, not take advantage of you. I-"

"Joel, I'm not a kid anymore, and definitely not your daughter… I think that we already made that clear. And if you thought that by kissing me, you did something bad?... you're wrong."

"What do you mean that ain't wrong… look at me. I am over 50 years old, and you… you're just a kid. I- I'm never going to forgive myself if I do something bad to you."

Ellie moves close to him. "Joel, you didn't do anything bad, and if I forgave you after you told me what you did in that hospital with the Fireflies… and Marlene... I'm sure that this is nothing compared to that."

"Ellie… I don't understand why you ain't mad at me for kissing you… what I did was wrong. I shouldn't take advantage of you like that. I just-"

Ellie closes the distance between them and puts one finger on his mouth to shut him up. "Joel, you don't need to be sorry for that…" Ellie moves away from him and turns around, looking at the floor. Then she speaks again. "Because I wanted it."

Joel's expression changes dramatically. "What do you mean… by that?"

Ellie speaks again without looking at him. "I don't know how or when this happened… But… I... love you, Joel! And not like a normal love. I love you like a woman loves a man." Ellie turns to look at him and tries to see his reaction, but it's hard to do it with all those emotions running inside her mind right now.

Joel turns and moves close to the window and looks outside. It's still dark, but the light of the moonlight is entering through the window. After a moment, he turns and looks at her. "Ellie, you don't really-"

"Love you like that?... yes, Joel, I do… and if you think that I haven't been thinking about this… you're wrong, because I have. I didn't know if this was real at first. But after the kiss, everything was clear to me." Ellie walks close to Joel. "You think that what you did was wrong because you didn't think I wanted that. Joel, I wanted it to happen because of something inside me telling me that it was right."

"Ellie…I-" He looks at her, not knowing what to say..

"Joel, I know that I love you… and nothing you say is going to change that. All the things I did that day was for you: going to the party, the dance, the dress. I know that I'm risking what we have. But I know that deep inside me, I have this feeling about you. And I know that you have feelings for me, too. I felt it when you kissed me, and I can see it in your eyes right now. So now I just need to know for sure if they're true?"

Joel doesn't know what to say. He just stays there, looking at Ellie in front of him. He can't believe that Ellie loves him like that, and is asking him if he loves her back. But how is he going to answer that? He knows that he loves her back, but how is he going to say that to her? Even though he loves her, how can all this be possible? He's still older than her, and he doesn't like how this is going to end.

Ellie is still looking at him, waiting for an answer. She doesn't mind about the age difference, but she can see that for Joel, that is going to be an issue. Ellie moves close to him, puts one hand on his cheek, and makes him look at her more directly. "Joel, it's okay, you don't have to feel bad about this. We don't know where we're going to find love again. I lost someone I love 5 years ago, and we didn't even have the chance to try to be together. But now that I've found love again, I don't want to lose the chance to be with someone again."

Joel opens his mouth to say something, but closes it again, so Ellie continues. "I love you… and I know that you love me, too." She lowers her hand and puts it on his chest, where the heart is. "I can feel it in here." Then she takes one of his hands and puts it on her chest, where her heart is. "Can you feel it in here, too?... I just want you to say it." Ellie looks in his eyes, waiting for his answer.

They stay there for a few minutes, just looking at each other's faces. Seeing the love they have for one another. With no conflict or regrets. Joel smiles a little. "You know… this will change everything between us… right?"

Ellie smiles at him. "Oh God… I hope so!"

"Ellie, are you sure that this is what you want?" asks Joel, trying to be sure.

"Yes!... Joel, I'm sure." Then she moves forward, putting her arms around his neck and kissing him on the mouth with all the passion and love she has for him.


	8. Chapter 8 : The Secrets we keep

**Disclaimer : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8 : The secrets we keep**

Joel feels her lips on his; it's an incredible sensation, something he wasn't expecting to like so much. In that moment, his mind floats away, and the only thing in it is Ellie. So he kisses her back, not holding back anything this time - no fear, no shame, just love. He moves his hand around her and pulls her closer to him. Ellie moves hers around his neck to pull him down toward her to deepen the kiss. They stay kissing for as long as they can, until both of them need air. When they pull apart, they put their foreheads together and close their eyes, gasping for air. "Wow… I've been waiting to do this again for so long," she says with a big smile on her face.

Joel smiles, too. "Really?... and how did you know that I was going to do this?" Joel teases her.

"Because I knew you would make the right choice." She moves her head and kisses him again. A small one this time. _Oh... I'm definitely going to get used to this._ "So this means that you love me?"

"Well, I guess I do. But I don't know if this is the right choice, kiddo." He looks at her, trying to imagine how this is going to end for them. Or if what he is doing is going to be good for Ellie.

"If you love me! That is all that I need to know." She gives him another kiss.

Joel puts his forehead against hers again. "Now what?... I mean, how are we going to do this?... I don't think people are going to agree with this… you know." Joel moves back a little and looks at her face. "Oh, shit!... as soon as Maria finds out about this, she's going to kill me," says Joel quickly, not even caring what his brother is going to do.

Ellie holds her hands behind him, not letting Joel get away from her. She starts to think for a moment about what to do. "They don't need to know… nobody needs to. We can keep it a secret."

"Are you kidding?... this is a small town, and all the people know each other here. So... do you think that we can keep this secret for long?" Joel tries to move away from Ellie to think this through, but Ellie doesn't let him.

Ellie looks at him and tries to calm him. "It can be done... nobody knows about the Fireflies thing, or about my immunity, for the last 4 years. So I think that we can handle this."

"Yeah, that may be true, but that's because Tommy and Maria helped with that. But this time, it's going to be different. Because this time, it's going to be just us," says Joel with a worried face. Not for him, but for Ellie. What happens if they try to separate them?

"Joel, it's okay… what's the matter? Don't tell me that you're getting cold feet already?" Ellie says with a smile.

"Wait, what!... I'm getting what?" Joel asks, a little confused.

"Oh… c'mon, Joel… cold feet. I read a lot of books, remember?... you know… it's when a -ummm."

Joel silences her by kissing her again, then he pulls away. "I know what it means... kiddo."

"Joel, I'm so happy that this ended up this way. So don't worry, we're going to talk more and find out how to do this," she says and smiles at him. "But for now, it's better for you to go to work and we can resume the kisses later." She lets go of him and starts to move away.

Joel moves after her, grabs her by the arm, and pulls her close to him again. "You really want me to go to work after this?".

"Well, if you don't go, people are going to start asking questions, don't you think?" says Ellie, moving one hand on his chest.

"Okay… we need to talk more about this when I get back. And we need to take this slowly, okay?"

"Yeah… that's fine with me. See you later, cowboy." Ellie gives him another kiss and walks up the stairs, probably back to her room.

Joel looks at her as she goes up. _Oh, I hope you know what you're doing, cowboy,_ he says to himself while walking back to the kitchen and stopping. "ELLIE, WHERE THE HELL DID YOU PUT MY TOOLS?"

 ***A few months later***

(Winter)

A few weeks after the kiss, Nancy tried asking Joel out with her a few times. In the end, Joel told her that he wasn't interested in any romantic relationship, but they stay friends, still working together. Ellie doesn't like the idea of Joel still working with her very much, but Joel promises her that he only loves her and that Nancy is only a work partner. A few days after Joel and Ellie talked, Ellie and Mandy had a talk and came back to being best friends.

Now it's December 24th, and Jackson County is celebrating Christmas Eve. Even though the winter started to get hard a few weeks ago, the people put some old Christmas decorations around the little plaza and on a few houses. They put some tents there for the music and food. People are dancing and celebrating - including Ellie and Joel, who are trying to act as normal as possible. Ellie spends a little time with her friend while Joel stays at Tommy and Maria's table. At nightfall, the weather changes and it starts snowing, so Tommy cuts the party short and sends everyone back to their homes.

(Two hours later in Joel & Ellie's home)

After Joel and Ellie get home, they change their clothes and go sit on their couch in the living room to watch a movie. Joel gave Ellie her Christmas gift early; that was a dvd player. He found it on one of the scavenger trips and took it to Oscar, the guy in town that repairs things, so that way, she can have her own and doesn't need to borrow the one from Tommy and Maria anymore. Maria gave her a few dvd movies as a gift that she can use on her new dvd player. They are watching 'Serendipity' - Joel never gets why Ellie is a sucker for romantic movies, but after they get together, he gets her better. Ellie now has her head resting on Joel's shoulder, and one of her hands wrapped around Joel's while they're watching the movie. She has a cup of hot chocolate in the other. She is happy to be back home with Joel, so that way, she can give him her present.

"Joel, do you know that this is our first Christmas together?" she asks, still looking at the movie.

"Well, we had 4 winters together before this one," he answers her sarcastically.

Ellie moves her head from his shoulder and looks at him. "No, dummy… I mean like a couple… you know… like we are boyfriend and girlfriend now."

"Yeah... that's right. We are lucky that no one's found out yet. And it's better if you don't try to kiss me at the next party," says Joel, looking at her.

Ellie moves away and looks at him. "Ahhh... c'mon, that was fun. And I'm your girlfriend now, so for me, it's right to do so."

"Maybe, but remember that we're trying to keep this a secret, and if someone sees us… I'm going to be in a lot of trouble." He loves what they've become now, but it's still weird for him when Ellie calls him that.

Ellie gives him a look. "I don't know why?... yeah, yeah, I know that we want to keep this a secret. But if someone finds out, I don't see what the problem is going to be. I'm 19 now, and in five months, I'm going to be 20. So I am an adult now - I can love whoever I want."

"Yeah, I know you are. But it's better if we stay like this for now."

"Joel, are you happy?" she asks him, putting her cup on the table that's in the middle of the living room.

Joel turns to look at her. "Of course I'm happy… being here with you makes me the happiest person in Jackson."

"I mean if you're happy with me. Like you love me and nothing is going to change that."

Joel puts one hand on her cheek and starts to move his thumb slowly over it. Ellie leans her face into it and closes her eyes. "Ellie, you're the best thing that's happened to me in a long time. And I'm going to love you for the rest of my life, no matter what."

"I love you too, Joel, and you made me the one happy woman in the world," she says, then moves her head and kisses Joel's hand. After that, Joel moves forward and kisses her on the lips.

After the movie ends, Joel turns off the TV and the DVD player. "I think it's late, so we should go to bed," he says, smiling at her.

"Yeah, go ahead... I will clean up here and go up soon." She gives him a little kiss on his mouth before he gets up and tells her that it won't take too long, then he walks up the stairs.

Ellie smiles while she watches him go to their room now. She wants to give him her gift, and for that, she needs to change. In the last two months, Joel and Ellie have been building their new relationship slowly. Keeping it a secret has been hard, but Ellie is happy with what they have, even though sometimes it's hard. Joel is happy, too, but sometimes, she just wants to tell everyone. Because they can't do anything outside their home… but inside their house, they can express the love they have for each other.

So far, it's just been kissing and some touching, but not sex. Joel wants things to go slow, so that way, Ellie can get used to all the emotions and not feel rushed, as all this is new for her. The journey has been fun and lovely, even though at this point, Ellie wants more. Joel always makes sure that Ellie enjoys the love and the experience. Ellie is happy with that, but tonight, she wants more. And she is going to give Joel a present that he's never going to forget. Even if the gift is more for the two of them. As soon as everything is done in the kitchen, Ellie goes to her old room and proceeds with her preparations.

Ellie is happy that they've started to take baths together a few times over the last two weeks. So seeing each other naked and touching is going to make this night easier for them.

Joel told her that being in love doesn't mean that they have to have sex, at least not all the time. But she knows that he is only fooling himself. He wants to have sex as much she does, even when he says that they are going to do it when she is ready. But Ellie knows that she is ready for that. She knows that he's only holding back because of their age difference.

After Ellie finishes dressing up in her room, she takes a big breath and walks out toward their room now. When Ellie arrives at the room, the door is open. The room is only illuminated with a small lamp that Joel has on the bedside table. Ellie sees Joel on the bed, so she walks inside the room. Joel is reclining against the headboard of the bed with his eyes closed, so Ellie walks slowly and tries not to make any sound so he doesn't wake up before she gets into the bed. Ellie moves to Joel's side of the bed and starts to remove the blanket that's covering the lower part of his body. As she manages to take it off without Joel noticing, Ellie proceeds to move into the bed and sit in his lap. She almost laughs, seeing him like this. It's only a few minutes after midnight and he is asleep.

Ellie leans forward a little and starts to unbutton his shirt. After she finishes, Ellie starts to pass her hand over his chest, grabbing some of his chest hair in the process. Ellie finds that sexy, even though it's not the first time that she's seen him shirtless. After a few minutes, she starts to give him kisses until she arrives at his mouth. It's incredible that he's not feeling her yet, moving on top of him. But when Ellie is about to kiss him on the lips, he opens his eyes, moves his head forward, and kisses her first. It's a deep kiss… not long, but Ellie loves it anyway.

He moves back and looks at her. "Ellie, what are you doing on top of me? and why are you wearing all that?" As soon as he looks at her better, he notices that she is wearing a red robe and a red and white hat. Just like the one people use for Christmas.

She giggles at him. "Joel, it's already Christmas… don't you want to open your present?"

"I already opened that, remember?"

"Ha - the sweater was from Tommy and Maria… you still need to open mine."

Joel looks at her with some curiosity. "Ellie, you are the best gift a man can have... So you don't need to give me a gift." He moves his hands up, grabbing Ellie's face and pulling it down to his. He puts his lips on hers and gives her another kiss, this time longer and more passionate. Ellie melts into the kiss and lets go of herself. Joel moves his tongue inside her mouth while she welcomes it gladly. They start to get more passionate as they continue with the kiss.

A few minutes later, they separate, gasping for air. "Wow… Joel, that was… incredible!" says Ellie, moving up until she's in a sitting position in his lap. Ellie is sitting on top of Joel's groin, and she can already feel the hardness of his cock. Now she knows that Joel is going to enjoy her gift. "It was intense, too... Now, it's time for you to open your Christmas present," Ellie says with a sexy voice.


	9. Chapter 9 : A Christmas Gift

**Disclaimer : I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

 **A/N: Warning this chapter contain, some sex. So if you don't like reading that avoid this chapter, Thanks. If you do, I hope that you enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9 : A Christmas gift**

Joel looks at her, not getting at first what Ellie means by that. But as soon as Ellie moves up and puts her hands on her waist, Joel sees the blue ribbon tied around the robe she's wearing… now he understands what she means about opening her present. He laughs a little to himself, just thinking about where she got all those ideas. "Ellie, where did you get all that?... and the ribbon, too?"

"Well, the clothes, I got from Mandy, and the blue ribbon, I got from Maria. I told her that I needed some to wrap up your present." Joel gives her a look. "What!... I didn't lie."

Joel shakes his head, still looking at her. "Ellie, this is all nice of you, but-"

"Joel, are you going to open your present or not?" says Ellie, moving her body a little forward.

Joel knows that it's better to play along, for now. "Okay…" He knows where this game of hers is going, so it's better to get over it. He moves forward and starts to untie the ribbon. As soon as he finishes, Ellie grabs the middle part of the robe and opens it, showing Joel her sexy red lingerie.

Joel opens his eyes wider as he starts to look at Ellie's beautiful body. "Shit!… Ellie, where did you get that?"

"Well... it wasn't easy, I can tell you that… do you like it?" she asks with a smile.

"Huh?" Joel moves his gaze up and looks in her eyes. "Yeah... I mean… it looks like… but yeah, I- I like it," Joel starts to answer, all nervous. It's not like he hasn't seen Ellie naked before, but this was something else.

"Well, now that you've opened your present… it's time for you to start using it." Ellie giggles while she takes the rest of the robe off. When she finishes, she throws it away, but leaves the hat on her head.

Jole moves forward again, grabs Ellie by the waist, and starts kissing her. He starts with her neck, then moves up. He continues with her jaw until he gets to her ear. "You're the best gift ever."

Ellie moves her head back to allow him more space to kiss her neck. "Ohhh… I can feel that you... like it… ahhh," says Ellie, feeling his groin pressing up on her. After a moment, Ellie pushes him back down to the bed, lays down on his chest, and starts kissing it. Then she starts to move her hips back and forth, so that way, she can feel his cock rubbing on her pussy. She hears Joel moaning a little, so she moves her head up and looks at him. "Joel… I want this… to be a special night." She starts to pass her hand over his chest and look at his face. "Joel, I love you and I want you… I want you to make love to me," she whispers.

Joel looks in her eyes, not knowing exactly what to say to that. "Ellie, I don't think that you're ready for-" Ellie puts a finger on his lips to stop him.

"Shhh… It's okay, Joel, I know that you told me that we will do it when I'm ready. But I am now… I want this - I want you. I want to feel you inside… I've tried to wait, but I need this. Joel, I love you, and I want this day to be the day where we become one." She moves close to his face and starts kissing him on the mouth. Joel tries to think, but Ellie's movements make it difficult. He knew that this was going to happen sooner or later, but being Ellie's first time, he is a little afraid of hurting her.

Another moan escapes Joel's mouth as Ellie starts to move faster over him, and kisses his neck. "Fuck… Ellie, you better stop that- ahhhh!... We don't have to do… Ellie, for the- ooohhh!..."

"Joel, I love you… do you love me?" Ellie asks, moving her head up, but not stopping her movements.

"Of course, I… Ohhh!... Love you… fuck!... Ellie, if you continue with that, I-"

"Then if you love me… take me… I'm ready for it… I'm ready for you," says Ellie, stopping herself on top of him.

Joel is breathing faster, and as soon as he gets some air, he looks at her. She looks so beautiful and cute with the Santa Claus hat. He knows that Ellie's age is one of the things that makes him hesitate on the sex part. Even if she is 19, he is not sure that she is ready for that. Joel knows that as soon as he crosses that line, there's no taking it back. And the last thing he wants is to hurt her in any way. Not only physically, but emotionally, too. So right now, he needs to take control and be sure that this is what she really wants. Joel grabs Ellie by the waist and with one hard move, he moves her to the side and lays her back on the bed, pinning her with his body. Ellie starts to move, just to push him back to his side, but Joel grabs her arms and pins them on the bed, too.

Ellie is giggling at the action; she loves when Joel tries to get control over her. Even though she is bigger now, she is no match for Joel, so she stops struggling and starts to relax. Joel is looking at her, trying to find something to say, but her body is making his cock beg him to do it. After a moment, he looks at her face. "Ellie… We don't have to do this right now. I don't want to hurt you… or make-"

"Joel… I know you're never going to do anything to hurt me. That's why I know that I'm ready for you. I love you… and I want you to make love to me."

Joel looks at her for a moment. He loves her and he knows that he can't hold this forever, so maybe it's time for him to show her how much he loves her. "Okay… but I want you to promise me something."

"Whatever you want, Joel…"

"I want you to let me know if it gets too painful, okay... So that way, I can stop."

"Okay… I will let you know… I promise," answers Ellie with a smile.

Joel lets go of her hands and starts kissing her from the mouth all the way down. He kisses her on the neck, her chest, her stomach, until he gets to the top of her lingerie panties. "This looks beautiful on you." He moves down and starts to kiss her at the top of her pussy.

Even though it's only through her panties, Ellie can feel it. "Ohhhh… I am… glad that… you like them."

"Oh... I love... them!..." Joel says between kisses. Then he moves his hands to Ellie's hips, grabs the top of her panties, and starts to move them down. Ellie lifts herself a little so Joel can take them off more easily. As soon as he takes them off, Joel drops them to the floor, and without any warning, he moves his head down and starts to kiss Ellie's inner thigh. Ellie quickly spreads her legs to give Joel more access. Joel moves his fingers, separates her folds, and starts to lick her entrance. Ellie arches her back at the sensation, remembering how that felt the few times Joel did that in the last 2 months. Ellie closes her eyes and bites her lower lip, feeling the pleasure.

Joel continues licking and sucking her up. Ellie starts to moan in the ecstasy of pleasure, and when Joel uses his finger to open her hole more and introduces his tongue, a small scream comes out of her. Joel moves out and looks at her quickly. "Are you okay?" he asks with some concern.

Ellie opens her eyes slowly and looks at him. "Oohhh... Fuck, Joel… don't stop... this feels... so good."

Joel smiles a little, then moves down again and starts to push two fingers in slowly. He moves his mouth to her clit and starts to suck it. That starts to make Ellie crazy. She moves her hand on top of his head and starts to play with his hair, but at the same time, she pushes his face closer to her pussy. After a few minutes, Ellie's insides start to get tight and hot when Joel starts to move his fingers faster. Fuck, Joel… I can't take… this any… Ahhhh!..." Ellie arches her back up as her orgasm hits her hard and she comes in Joel's face. She lays back down while her heart is beating too fast. Joel moves up and wipes off part of the liquid from his face with the back of his hand. "Did you enjoy that, kiddo?" asks Joel, moving up until his face is on hers.

"Ohhh… Fuck… Joel!... That was incredible…" After her heart goes back to normal, she grabs the hat and throws it away. Then she sits up a little and takes the bra off, too. "Joel, I am... ready."

Joel still has some doubts about this. He loves her, but he still doesn't know if this is the correct thing to do right now. But Ellie is still begging him to continue. "Ellie, are you sure that you want this?... Because as this is your first time, this is going to hurt a little... so if you want me to-"

"Joel, it's okay… I know that this is going to hurt... I am preparing for that. And yes, I want you to continue," says Ellie, laying down on the bed again.

Joel lifts himself, takes off his pants, and throws them to the floor. Ellie looks at his hard dick with wide eyes. Joel gives her a little smile, then moves down and positions himself between her legs. He puts the tip of his cock on her entrance and waits for a few moments. She is so wet that it's going to make this easier for both of them. He looks at her one more time to see if she is going to change her mind, but when she looks at him and nods her head in approval, he knows that she won't. "I love you…. kiddo!" Joel tells her with a smile.

"I know," she answers back.

Then Joel proceeds to push himself inside. As his dick starts to enter her, Joel lays down on top of her. Ellie closes her eyes tight and spreads her legs more as Joel's member starts to expand her tight pussy more and more. Ellie bites her lower lip at the new sensation. This is the first time that she's felt Joel's cock inside her, but she didn't expect it to feel so big inside. Yeah, he entered her with his fingers and tongue before, but his dick is bigger than those. Joel sees her face and knows that he is getting to the worst part. "Ellie, you need to relax yourself or it's going to hurt more," says Joel in a lower voice. Ellie nods and tries to calm herself a little. He moves up, grabs her lips with his, and starts to say 'I love you' between kisses. He needs to ease the pain that is coming soon as he continues pushing inside her. She feels so warm and tight that it's difficult to continue without causing more pain.

He pulls away from her mouth as he finds the resistance that makes her a virgin. "Ellie, are you okay?" Ellie looks at him and nods. "Okay, this part is going to hurt a little, so I will try to do it the least amount possible, okay?" Ellie nods again, so he starts to push in again. Ellie tries to think of happy memories, and tries to relax her body. Joel waits for a few minutes until he feels her more relaxed, then he starts to push deeper. Ellie closes her eyes tight as she starts to feel the pain, but before Joel breaks her barrier, he moves his mouth over her and starts to kiss her. He pushes deeper until he feels her barrier break. Ellie screams a little inside his mouth, and that makes Joel stop. Joel gives her a little time to adjust to the pain. Joel moves his mouth away from her and starts to apologize. "I'm so sorry… I didn't want-" Ellie stops him with a kiss.

"I'm fine, Joel… you did nothing wrong… I want this, remember?" As the pain is less now, Ellie tells Joel to continue, so Joel lowers himself again and kisses her. Their mouths just melt together as Joel starts to move in and out slowly. Joel starts to feel her moan inside his mouth as he starts to move faster. Now that the pain is gone, Ellie starts to feel the pleasure of the sex act. Joel tells her that the next time is going to be easier and more pleasurable than this one.

He finds a rhythm that's good for him to give Ellie more pleasure. He moves to her neck and tries not to suck too hard, so that way, he doesn't leave any marks on her. He starts to move faster and deeper when Ellie starts to plead with Joel to go deeper. Joel feels his own climax approaching and he needs Ellie to finish first, so that way, he can pull out in time.

He moves his mouth to one of her breasts, and a hand to her clit. He starts to rub it hard and that's all Ellie needs to come. As her walls get tighter on his cock, she comes with a loud scream. Joel quickly moves his mouth on hers to silence her. Even though their house is distant from others, he doesn't want anybody to hear her.

After that, it's his time to come, but he doesn't have to wait long, because after a few more thrusts, he feels his seed coming out. So he quickly moves up and gets out of her, spreading his seed on her stomach with a hard grunt. He strokes his cock a few more times to get it all out. Then he moves to her side and lays down, gasping for air. "Sorry about that… kiddo... but you know that… I can't do it... inside."

"Don't worry... Joel… I understand... I still love you," says Ellie sarcastically.

After a few minutes, Joel moves to the side until his face is in front of her. "I love you, too…" He moves close and kisses her. The kiss is long, and when he moves apart, he looks at her again, smiling. "Thanks!... you know, for the gift… and everything else." Joel gives her a little kiss and

moves out of the bed. His legs are still a little weak.

Ellie looks at him while she tries to calm her heart down. She sees him move to one of the bedroom drawers and take out a T-shirt. Ellie smiles at him. "You're welcome!"

"Don't worry about the mess… you know. I will clean you up with this."

Ellie starts to move out of the bed and sees the little blood stain on the bed sheet. She looks at Joel and continues to move out. "That's not necessary, Joel, I'll just take a shower."

Joel sees the blood stain, too, and starts thinking about what just happened. He loves Ellie without any doubt about it, but he was hoping to not be the one who takes her virginity. But maybe it was better this way... he has the experience and knows how to do it without making it too painful for her. "Okay... I will… change the bed sheets, so we can get some sleep."

Ellie puts on the hat again, walks close to him, and grabs his balls gently. "Don't take long… the night's still young and I don't want to take a bath alone." She kisses him on the cheek and walks out of the room.

Joel turns and looks at her back while she goes out. "Fuck… girl, you need to stop watching those romantic movies or reading those books. I don't think I will live long if you continue with that."

"Oh, don't worry, cowboy, I'll treat you gently… And hurry up, don't keep a lady waiting," says Ellie from the bathroom.

"Yes ma'am!" Joel moves to the bed and starts to change the sheets. After two hours in the shower, Joel and Ellie go back to the room.

They put on their sleeping clothes as it's starting to get cold outside and starting to snow again. Joel and Ellie are snuggled on the bed with the clean sheets on top of them. Ellie puts her head on Joel's chest and arms, hugging him.

"Joel?"

"Yes, kiddo."

"Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, to you too... kiddo!" He kisses the top of her head and after that, they fall asleep.

After that day, Joel and Ellie's sex is easier and more pleasant. Joel starts to teach Ellie a few things, but Ellie tells him that she's learned a lot of things from books and movies. They continue having sex from time to time. Joel tells her that it's better if they keep their relationship a secret for the time being. Ellie doesn't care much If all of Jackson finds out about them, but as it's a big deal for Joel, she prefers to leave things that way. Joel promises her that they will talk to Tommy and Maria when he finds a way to do it without Maria killing him. Ellie laughs at that, because she doesn't understand how Joel can kill so many people and be scared of a woman. But at least they are happy with what they have.

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 **A/N: Hi, since I finish my other story, I will start to post this one on Sunday now. So after this chapter, the next one is going to be post next Sunday and this story is going to continue been posting every Sunday until the end. Thanks for reading my story and I hope that you like it, and don't forget to post a review, thanks.**


	10. Chapter 10 : Back to the Present

**Disclaimer :** **I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

 **A/N: This story is going to be post every Sunday now, thanks for reading.**

* * *

 **Chapter 10 : Back to the present**

(Three days later)

Joel is sitting on top of an old wooden box inside an old barn. He is moving the wood in the fire pit with a stick to keep the fire alive. The fire is keeping the place a little warm as the snowstorm outside continues whipping the walls with hard winds and snow. He is lost with thoughts in his head. He is trying to stay focused and calm, but the only thing in his mind right now is Ellie. He doesn't understand how this happened… again. He was so close to getting her back in that camp, but he lost her again. And after they left... after the Fireflies that got her and the boy, another storm hit them a few hours after they got out of there. He wants to blame Bibi, the woman that betrayed them, even if it was to keep her son alive. But he can't blame her for trying to save her son's life, because he probably would've done the same. This is his fault, too; he became so blind in trusting people in the last 4 years that he let his guard down.

He trusted this woman, and now Ellie is gone. Yeah, she is helping him now, but Ellie's still gone, and every day that passes makes it harder to find her.

Of course, the woman saved his life when she changed her mind about helping those people. She asked for his forgiveness and told him that she is going to help him get Ellie back. But all that is not going to change the fact that those assholes got Ellie, and now the Fireflies. Besides, she needs him, too, to get her boy back. He feels a little sorry for the boy; she said that he was only five, but there's something he doesn't get. He probably knows why they took Ellie, if they recognized her, but why take the boy? Maybe they didn't want to leave the boy alone back there after they killed everyone in that camp. But he knows that he is starting to get soft, and that is not good in this world. The life in Jackson has been good... no need to worry much about infected, and that's good for Ellie.

But as good as it was, it made him more careless and softened his instincts. Being with Ellie changed all that, too - not only Jackson. She opened his heart again and made him try to be a better person. But out here, all that needs to change: he needs to become the old him if he wants to get his Ellie back. But those words that that man told them: ' _The Fireflies took them'_ the Fireflies was a name that he didn't want to hear ever again. But now they're back again, and that makes him wonder if they ever are going to let Ellie and him live in peace.

How did they even find her, anyway? ...and why were they still looking for her after all these years? ...Are they still looking for a cure? He killed all those doctors in Lake Salt City, but he knows that the Fireflies in that hospital weren't all of them. He thought that when he killed Marlene, the Fireflies were going to fall apart and stop looking for Ellie. It looks like he was wrong, but all that doesn't matter now... he needs to find her… No, he is going to find her, and if they do something to her, they all are going to pay.

They are lucky that he found the horses in the camp. That those assholes didn't take them with them, or kill them. He thought that maybe they were in such a hurry that they didn't check the whole place out. Having the horses helped a lot, but when the storm started to get worse, they needed to find a place to stay until it slowed down. Lucky for them, they found an old barn that was in good shape and used it to get protection from the storm. Yes, it's difficult for them to go on now, but the good news is that the Fireflies are probably stuck, too. The problem is, where? This region is too big, and knowing where they're going is going to be a problem.

"Hey, you haven't eaten anything yet." A familiar voice takes Joel out of his thoughts.

The woman comes from the back of the barn where they put the horses, and sits on the other side of the wood fire. "I ain't hungry," he says with a hard voice. "We're wasting time here... we should continue looking for her," says Joel, not looking at her but at the fire.

Bibi lowers her head and looks at the fire, too. "Look, I know that you're worried about Ellie... I get that," she starts, then she lifts her head to look at him.

"Remember that they have my boy, too, and he is only five. I want him back as much as you do her, but killing ourselves in this storm is not going to help them."

Joel lifts his head and looks at her. "And how are we going to do that, hum?... They have a vehicle, and time ahead of us. And this fucking storm now has erased any tracks that we had of them."

"Don't worry about that - this storm is delaying us, but them, too. No matter what vehicle they're using, it's not going to get them out from this mountain. There's only one way out from here, and with this storm, that way out is going to be blocked. And there is only one place where they can go."

Joel stands up and moves close to her. "If you know where they are... why are we wasting time in here? I know these Firefly people, and if we don't get them before they get off this mountain,

I'm never going to see Ellie again, and I'm not going to let that happen," says Joel, moving away and toward the horses.

Bibi stands up and follows him, and before he gets to the horse, she grabs his arm, making him turn around to look at her. "Look, I know that this is my fault, and that you're still mad at me. I get it. But don't let that cloud your mind. It's going to be dark soon, and if you go out there now, you're going to kill yourself, and then who is going to save Ellie?"

( low blow) But he is not going to waste any more time in there. "I've been outside in worse conditions than this. So don't tell me what I can't do." He shakes her hand off and starts to move away again. "And I want to know why the Fireflies would take your son?... Because the last time I checked, they don't go out there kidnapping kids," he says, stopping and looking at her.

"I don't know why they took him. Maybe they didn't want to leave a small boy alone… I don't know. I've never seen any Fireflies in this part of the country. The only thing I know is that I know this mountain better than them. We're going to find them - you just need to trust in me," she says with a sad voice.

"That's the problem - I don't… and you know why?... because you're lying right now. I know that you know something that you're not telling me, and I want to know what it is?"

"I'm not lying… but yeah, I have secrets… you want me to be honest?... then what about you, hum? Why did the Fireflies take Ellie, too?" she asks him in a hard tone.

Joel looks at her, a little surprised. "Yeah, I may not be telling the whole truth, but I ain't the one that drugged people to sell them," he replies.

"I already told you that I am sorry for that... But you know what, go ahead. Go out and try to save your girl and see how that works out. Yes, I made a mistake, and I'm sorry about that.

But continuing to fight with me about that is not going to help them. I don't need your help to get my boy back. So if you want to kill yourself, be my guest." Bibi turns around and goes back to sit close to the fire again.

Joel looks at her for a moment, then continues toward the horses and stops beside Ellie's horse. He starts to pass his hand over his side. _Don't worry, boy, we're going to get Mommy back, I promise,_ he says to the horse in a lower voice. He continues to pass his hand over the horse for a little while and talk to him. He knows that Bibi is right, even though he doesn't completely trust her. He knows that going out at night in this storm is going to be suicide. So for now, he's going to wait... not that that patience is his strong virtue, but he doesn't have any other choice.

After a few more minutes, he moves away from the horse and goes back to the fire and sits. He looks at Bibi, who seems a little sad now. Joel just stays there, not knowing what to say, and he's certainly not going to apologize to her. He feels sad that her boy is with them, too, but none of this would've happened if she hadn't betrayed them. He's very curious to know why the Fireflies are here.

Why are they still looking for Ellie after all this time, or is all this just a coincidence? Anyway, how did they know that she was in that camp, or were they looking for someone else? That is something he needs to ask one of them when he finds them. Well, that is if any of them stay alive after he finds them. He takes the stick that he was using before and starts to move the wood with it to keep the fire alive. "So… you know where they might be?" asks Joel without looking at her.

Bibi lifts her head and looks at him. "I'm not 100% sure, but there's an old lumber processing factory close to a river that is like 30 miles from here, I guess. But it's the only place they can be using if the storm hit before they had the chance to get off the mountain."

"That is going to take us one more day in this weather. So what makes you think that they're going to be there after the storm stops?"

"Hope!" is her only answer. After that, she gets up and moves to the sheet that she put on the floor close to the wood fire and lays down to get some sleep.

Joel looks at her for a few minutes, then does the same. He doesn't feel like sleeping, but tomorrow is going to be a long day, and he is going to need the rest. It's been hard to sleep without Ellie by his side. It's been more than a week since he saw her or felt her close to him, and that is starting to make him crazy. He starts to look at the ceiling of the barn and tries to think of her. Imagining her face, her smile, and how crazy she makes him with her questions and jokes. _Ohhh I never thought that I was going to miss those_. He starts to imagine that she is there, sleeping beside him with her head on his chest and a smile on her face. After that, he falls asleep with a smile of his own.

( In another place with Ellie )

Ellie is in the middle of the forest, looking at an old cabin there. The ground surrounding the cabin is all green, and the sunlight comes down through the tall trees. The place looks like it's a summer morning. Ellie finds that strange because the last time she saw the forest, it was covered with snow. She tries to walk to get to the cabin, but for some reason, she can't move. Ellie looks at the cabin again and notices that it looks kind of familiar.

Like she's seen it before, but doesn't remember where. She knows that this is not Jackson or any place close to there. But this cabin could be located anywhere, as she and Joel have been in so many places during their travels. So maybe this is just a dream; somehow, she feels in peace, just like she was at home, so she thinks that this has to be a dream.

Ellie starts to look around, hoping to see if she can recognize something. But there is nothing more except trees, so she looks at the old cabin again. After a few moments, she starts to hear some laughing coming from inside the cabin. She tries to move toward the cabin again, but can't do it, so she just stays looking at the front door to see if someone comes out. Then she sees the door open and sees a small girl run out of the cabin with something in her hands. The girl jumps the stairs into the grass and runs to the other side of the cabin.

She's not older than 3, maybe 4 years old, and has long reddish hair. She is wearing a pink dress and black shoes. She is laughing and playing around, just like someone is after her. A minute later, Ellie sees a little boy coming out of the cabin, just like he's chasing her. The boy looks like 5 or 6 years old and has black hair. He is wearing a blue shirt, black pants, and sneakers. He is running and yelling at her, but Ellie can't hear what he's saying.

Ellie doesn't understand why she is seeing all this. She knows that this has to be some kind of dream, but why is she seeing those kids? The two kids disappear behind the cabin, but Ellie still hears them laughing and yelling in the back, until they appear again on the other side of the cabin. When the boy catches the little girl in front of the cabin, both of them fall to the ground. The boy says something to the girl and then he starts to tickle her. Both children are laughing hard, like they don't need to worry about anything, just playing. After a few minutes, Ellie feels someone behind her, then two hands rest on her shoulders.

"They look beautiful and happy, don't you think?... I told you that this place... it was going to be good for them," a familiar voice sounds behind her.

Ellie moves one hand and puts it on top of the one on her shoulder. _Joel!_ she whispers with a smile.

Then she tries to turn to see him, but still can't move the rest of her body, just the arm. The only thing she can do is lean backward until she feels his body. She closes her eyes as her heart starts to beat faster.

He feels so warm and comfortable against her body, and that makes her feel so good and happy. She wants so badly to see his face again, to have him in her arms and kiss him and do so much more... _Oh yesss..._ She definitely wants to do more than just kiss him. She is going to say something, but he speaks again.

"You're late… but the children are going to be happy to see you," he says, resting his head on her shoulder. She feels his face touching hers, and that gives her a chilling sensation.

Ellie opens her eyes and looks directly at the cabin, where the little kids are still playing. "Joel… I… I don't-" She is interrupted by Joel's voice. "It's okay, kiddo… You will be fine… even if I'm not there to see them grow," he says with a sad tone.

Ellie's eyes go wide at those words, and when she turns her head to see Joel's hand, they start to disappear. "No… no...no!... Joel!?" When Ellie finally moves, she turns to look at him, but he isn't there. "Joel?... Joel… please don't leave me!" Tears start falling from her eyes as she starts to look at her surroundings, trying to see him again. When she doesn't find him, she looks at the cabin again. Then she notices that the place is starting to get blurred in her eyes, and it starts to disappear, too.

She sees the two children looking at her now. "Mommy!" she hears both of them say at the same time. Then she starts to see everything getting dark until it all vanishes from her sight. Then she hears his voice again.

"I am so sorry, baby… I wish things were different... But I want you to know that I will love you forever."

 _No… no… don't leave… please. I need you Joel… JOELLLL!_

Ellie opens her eyes quickly. She is gasping for air as her heart is beating fast. She is trying to see where she is, because obviously she's not in the forest anymore. She is laying on the floor of some kind of place where she doesn't remember being before. Ellie tries to get up when she feels some pain in the side of her head. When she tries to move her hand to touch it, she notices that her hands are behind her back, and she can't move them. " _What the hell!?"_ she says in a lower voice while trying to move around on the floor.

Before she can do something, Ellie hears some noises coming from the other side of the room that she is in. Ellie tries to move, to look in that direction, but can't see much because the room is a little darker. When her eyes start to get more accustomed to the dark, she sees a door open and two men entering the room. As soon as they get close to her, one of them speaks. "Oh, look... the little wild girl is awake!" says one of the men, who is holding a lantern that illuminates the room.

"Who the fuck are you?... And why am I tied up?" asks Ellie, looking at the man.

"Oh, don't worry, you will know soon enough… James is eager to talk to you," says the other man.


	11. Chapter 11 : In the hand of the beast

**Disclaimer :** **I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

* * *

 **Chapter 11 : In the hands of the beast**

Who are these people? Ellie tries to remember what is going on... why these people are holding her in this place. But any time she tries, she feels pain in her head. They don't look like the ones that held her in that camp. Then she starts to remember the place where she was held prisoner. She remembers being in a cabin, then she starts to remember the shooting and… the boy!... _Liam!_

Ellie sees one of the men getting close to her. The man has a lantern in one hand, then she sees him take out a gun and point it at her. "C'mon, just pick her up… we don't have all night!" he says to the other man.

The other man looks at him with a scared face. "Why do I have to pick her up… why don't you do it?"

The older man rolls his eyes and looks at the younger one. "Because I'm carrying the lantern, you dumbass. So stop being a wuss and pick her up." The younger man was going to protest again, but the other man just stops him. "C'mon, she has her hands tied behind her back now - she's not going to do anything this time."

Ellie looks at the two men with a confused expression. Why do they look scared of her when they have the guns and she is tied up? _Who are these people?_ she asks herself.

The younger man has a machine gun pointing at her, then he starts to move slowly toward her. "Don't try anything, if you know what's good for you," says the younger man when he gets close to her. The man moves the gun to the side and leans down to grab her. "Keep an eye on her, and if she tries something, shoot her in the leg."

The older man starts to get desperate. "Just hurry up, will you? The boss is waiting," says the older man with an irritated tone.

The young man pulls her up from the mattress she's on and brings her to her feet. "Keep your hands off of me!... who the hell are you? And what did you do with Liam?" Ellie starts to struggle while the man starts to drag her out of the room.

"No talking, just move and stop struggling. We don't want to hurt you like last time," says the man with the lantern and the gun pointing at her.

 _Hurt me?... what do they mean by that?_ she starts to question herself until she feels the pain again. She doesn't remember much, but they must have hit her on the head or something. So maybe that's why she feels pain in her head. The two men drag her through the place. Ellie tries to look around to see where they are. The place looks like a big storage or an old factory. She and Joel were in a place like this before, but this one looks different somehow.

Ellie tries to see as much as she can, but there is not much in there except old broken boxes and a lot of old cut trees everywhere. There are some old machines that people probably used in the old times to process the wood, but nothing that she can use to escape for the moment. After a while, she stops fighting. She needs to find out where they took Liam and what they're doing to him. Also, she needs to know more about these people before she tries something. Ellie is trying hard to not provoke these people; she can't let them hurt her, because it's not about just her anymore.

Ellie slows down as soon as she sees the truck that probably brought them here. Close to the truck are two men, and one of them is working on the vehicle. The truck is in the middle of the factory or whatever this place Ellie think it is. The truck doesn't look too big, so that means that there can't be many men in this group. Probably not more than ten; that's still too many for her if she tries to do something, especially with the weapons they have. But there's a good possibility to escape if she gets the chance. "Move!" says one of the men, pushing her forward.

Ellie looks at him with a disgusted expression. "Where are you taking me?... and what do you want with me and the boy?" Ellie asks while one of the men pushes her again.

"Stop asking us questions and move!... If the boss wants you to know something, he will tell you, so shut up." Ellie is trying to see how many men are in there. At the moment, she only sees two close to the truck, the two that are escorting her, and two more on the second floor.

So that means six men at the moment. Ellie looks around again to see if she can see anyone else, but as the place is just illuminated by some lanterns in different places, she can't see much. They continue walking until they arrive at stairs that lead to a second floor of the building. One of the men grabs Ellie by one arm and helps her up the stairs.

When they arrive on the second floor, they take her to one of the little office rooms there. One of the men knocks at the door and ask for their boss. The group has been using that place as a provisional base for some time, and their leader is using one of the old offices on the second floor as a private room. "Sir, the girl is awake… so we brought her here as you requested," says the older man.

"You may enter…" says a voice on the other side of the door. The older man opens it and the younger one pushes Ellie inside the room.

As Ellie is taken inside, she sees a man sitting behind a rusty desk. Like downstairs, the room is illuminated by a lantern. The room doesn't have any windows, and just one door. Ellie notices that besides some broken and rusty things in the room, it's well-organized. So that means that these people have been here for awhile.

The man looks at Ellie while the guards push her to the front and they move a little backward. "Well, it took you long enough to wake up. I never wanted one of my men to hit you so hard, so sorry about that," the man says with a grin on his face. "But I can't really blame him, you know. After you killed his brother, he got really mad." The man stands up and looks at her more directly. "Now. My name is James." The man moves a little closer and points to the chair in front of the desk. "Have a seat - I have some questions for you."

Ellie looks at him and finds it odd that this man seems too polite with her. "Questions?... I have no idea what I'm doing here? or who the fuck are you?" The older man moves close to her and grabs her arm. He uses his other hand and moves the chair, then abruptly pushes Ellie into it.

"Ohh… try to be more careful, asshole," says Ellie while she looks at the man with a mad expression.

"Please... this is no way to treat a young woman, boys…" He moves close and sits on a corner of the desk. "Now you two can go and wait outside while the lady and I have a little talk," says the man, looking at the two guards now.

"Boss, are you sure of that? I don't think that it's a good idea to stay with her... alone?" says the man, a little nervous.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure of that… now leave us." The man just moves his hand and shoos them out.

The two men walk toward the door and start mumbling something before they go out and close the door behind them. James watches them leave, then looks at Ellie. "Sorry about that, but sometimes I have to work with what I get out there." He stands up from the desk and walks to a little table in one of the corners of the room where he has some glasses and a bottle of some kind of liquor.

Ellie looks at him with some curiosity. "Don't try to be so nice… and tell me what you want from me... and what you did with Liam?"

The man doesn't say anything right away, but after a moment, he speaks. "Liam?... oh, you mean the boy." He smiles a little, then he starts to pour whatever was in the bottle into one of the glasses. "Oh, where are my manners?... do you want something to drink?... some tea?... water? Or maybe some whisky?... it's good!"

"Are you fucking kidding?... look, I just want to know who are you and what you did with the boy," says Ellie, starting to get frustrated with this man and his fake kindness.

The man turns around and walks away from the table. He goes and sits in the chair behind the desk. "Don't worry about the kid... he's in good hands. The question is, who are you… and what were you doing in that camp?" the man says, taking a sip from the glass he has, then looks at her more seriously.

Ellie looks the man in the eye. _Great… why does he want to know who I am? And why did they attack the camp and take us with them? I need to find a way out of here, so maybe lying a little can help._ "Look, those people kidnapped us from our group. I don't know... like two weeks ago, I guess. So they're probably looking for us now."

The man smiles at her, then takes another sip of his drink. "Ummm… I see, that sounds interesting…"

"Yeah… they're like 50 people and they have guns…. So why don't you just untie me, and let me and the kid go. Because if they find you and think that you were the one who kidnapped us, it's not going to end well for you and your men," says Ellie with a firm voice, trying to sound convincing.

The man looks at her with intense eyes, then he finishes his drink and stands up again. He walks toward the table and pours more of the liquid in his empty glass. His back is toward Ellie when he starts to speak again. "Well, that was a really interesting story…" Then he turns and looks at Ellie. "But the funny thing is that I talked with the fat man. You know, the leader of the camp, before he tried to kill me and ran away." He walks close to Ellie and sits again on top of the desk. Ellie looks at him, still sitting in the chair with her hands tied behind her back. "He told me that a woman that he was using to trap people for him called him two weeks ago and told him about an old man and a young woman that she trapped for him," he says, taking a sip of his drink.

Ellie tries to hide her worried expression. "And you're going to believe that?... He lied to you… I told you. I come from a group of people that is traveling to the west. So it's better for you if you just-"

"SHUT UP!... Do you think that I am that stupid?... You're going to tell me the truth… What do the Fireflies want with you?" He leans close to her face.

Ellie's eyes are wide open as soon as she hears that name. "What?... The Fireflies?" _How is that even possible?... Are the Fireflies still looking for me?_ "I- I... don't have anything to do with the Fireflies."

The man smiles, then stands up from the desk. "Well, they definitely know you. Their leader tried to hide his excitement as soon as I mentioned your name… Ellie, is it?"

Ellie follows the man with her eyes as he walks from one way to another in the room. And that is starting to worry her. "Look, man, I don't know any Firefly people. So I don't know what you want me to tell you. But if you made some kind of a deal with them, they are going to betray you."

The man stops pacing and looks at her. "Oh, well, that is good advice from someone that doesn't know any Fireflies." He starts to move again. "The thing is that I made a deal with them, but since I told them that I have you and the kid, they haven't contacted us. So that's why I need to know why you're so important to them." He moves close to her and continues. "They hired me to search for a boy that they think was in this area. But as soon as I mentioned your name, they seemed like they want you more. And I need to know why?"

Of course she knows why, but she can't tell him. "Like I said, I don't have any idea. Maybe they're mistaking me for someone else."

The man moves closer and grabs her by the neck, pulls her up from the chair, and pushes her back at the desk. "I'm trying to be nice to you, but if you want to continue lying to me, I can use other means to make you talk," says the man in her face while he is strangling her with one hand. Ellie starts gasping for air; she tries to shake the man off, but with her hands tied behind her back, there's not much she can do to defend herself, so he continues. "Maybe I can leave you alone with some of my men and let them have a little fun… Or maybe I can just do it myself… yeah, maybe that can loosen your mouth a little. The Fireflies want you alive, but they didn't say in what condition." The man smiles and starts to move his other hand to the zipper of his pants.

 _No...no…_ Ellie needs to stop this; she can't let them hurt… him. She can't let them hurt her child. Ellie tries to do something or say anything to stop him. But as soon as she tries to talk, the door of the room opens violently.

"Sorry to interrupt you, boss, but we got something on the radio and Marcus wants to talk to you there," says the man, gasping for air.

The leader turns his head and looks in the direction of the man, furious. "Next time you come in here, knock on the door first!" Then he turns back to Ellie. He loosens the grip that he has on her neck, and Ellie finally has some air. "Looks like you have been saved by the bell." He pulls her from the desk and pushes her toward the man. Lucky for her, the man catches her before she falls down to the floor. "Take her back to the room, and give her some water and food. We don't want her dead before I get something back… at least not yet."

The guard grabs Ellie by the arm and moves her out of the room. She is still gasping for air, as she can still feel the pain in her throat, and with her hands tied behind her back, the pain feels worse. The leader of the group just adjusts himself, then walks out of the room. He walks to the other side of the corridor and opens the door of another room.

The room is smaller than the one he was in, but it's only used for the communication equipment. As soon as he enters, he sees the man that is operating the radio.

"Okay, Marcus, they told me that it was urgent, so what you got?"

The man looks back at him. "Oh yes, boss… you know that we're having trouble with the communications because of the storm, right? But I just intercepted a transmission that I think was from the Fireflies."

"So they're trying to contact us again?... I need to know if they're only coming here for the kid. And if they're going to agree to the new deal for the girl."

"Sorry, sir, but the transmission wasn't for us. It seems that they were talking with another Firefly group that is close to this area… I don't understand, sir. Why are they calling another group if they're only coming to pick up the kid?"

James looks at the man with a worried face. "Because those motherfuckers are going to betray us. They are calling for reinforcements, probably to take us down," says the man, moving toward the door, then stops before he goes out. "Keep your ears open and let me know if you get something else. We need to prepare the men for anything."

"Yes sir," says the man before James leaves the room.

The leader goes down to the ground level as fast as he can. Then he walks quickly to where the truck is. As soon as he gets there, he sees some of his men sitting there and eating. "Where is Brandon?" he asks one of them.

"I think he's in the back part, smoking… is something wrong, sir?" asks one of the men.

James rolls his eyes in frustration. "Did he finish with the truck?"

"No sir, he says that he needs to replace some part on the tire injection. And that that is going to take at least two more days, "answers another one.

"Okay, break time is over… Now I want three men in patrol around the building…" He starts to tell his men what to do and that they need to be ready for anything. "And you!" he says, pointing to another man behind the truck. "Go and get that asshole and bring him here. I need that truck fixed by tomorrow, and the rest of our things ready to go.".

All the men stand up and start to move. But before James moves away, one of them gets close to him. "Sir, why the hurry?... aren't we supposed to wait for the Fireflies to come here for the pick up?" says the man curiously.

"Oh, they're coming here to pick up the kid and the girl. But I don't think they want to pay us for them."


	12. Chapter 12 : Trust and Treachery

**Disclaimer :** **I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

* * *

 **Chapter 12 : Trust and Treachery**

The storm stops the next morning, so Joel and Bibi move out of the barn and start on their way to rescue Ellie and Liam. A few hours later, they are on the path that Bibi says will take them down the mountain and all the way to the place where she thinks the Fireflies are. But all the snow that's been falling down for the last few days is making travel difficult for them and the horses. Joel is following her since she's the one that knows where to go. Joel doesn't like that much, as he always went in front when he was with Ellie. For now, he doesn't have any choice but to follow the woman. He is lost in his thoughts when he hears the woman start to speak.

"The snow is getting deeper from this point forward - so it's better for us if we - get off the horses, to- lose the weight," says Bibi, trembling, trying to warm up her hands a little. Then she stops the horse and looks back at Joel. "Joel!… JOEL!"

Joel looks at her just like he's waking up from a trance. "What?"

Bibi shakes her head and starts to dismount the horse. "I said that the… snow is deeper from now on… so we need to get off the horses or they're going to get stuck… in the snow."

"Yeah, of course," he says while he starts to dismount from his.

Bibi grabs the horse's reins and starts to move forward. Joel does the same and starts to follow her. "How long - is it going to take - to get to that place?" Joel asks as soon as he gets beside her, trying to hide how cold he's feeling. "Because this definitely... is going to slow us down."

"I don't think we're far…now." She starts to look at their surroundings and the sky that's all gray, and continues. "But with the sky like this, it's going to be… difficult to know the time. If I'm correct, we're going to get there at night." Bibi continues walking and looking at the terrain.

Joel looks at her, not completely sure of her calculations. "Well, let's hope that they're still there," he says, looking forward and letting her take the lead.

"They will be… they will be…" she says in a lower, hopeful voice.

After a few minutes, Joel puts one hand in his pocket and takes something out. When he opens his hand, there's Ellie's ring.

The one he gave her at the cabin, where he asked her to marry him. He just stays looking at it while he continues walking in the snow, his mind traveling to another place and time.

 _\- flashback-_

 _Joel is lying in his bed with one hand behind his neck and the other rubbing Ellie's back. He has his eyes closed while half of Ellie is on his chest, rubbing his side with one hand. Both of them are naked under the blanket. He remembers that night, because he was feeling a little tired after a long session of wild sex. Ellie had just turned 20 a few months before that night. Also, it was a month before a group of hunters attacked the dam, and Joel volunteered himself to go out to find a guy to repair it._

" _Joel!" Ellie says in a lower voice while she's playing with Joel's chest hair._

" _Hum?"_

" _I was thinking… ummm… do you think that someday… we can be like Tommy and Maria?" She grabs a few chest hairs and twists them with her fingers._

" _Like… Tommy and Maria?" Joel asks, a little clueless._

" _You know… like a couple… I mean like-"_

" _I thought we're already a couple."_

" _Yeah… I know. But I mean like a permanent one… you know, like a married couple."_

 _Joel opens his eyes and tries to look at her. "Ellie!... Are you not happy with what we have?"_

 _Ellie lifts her head so she can look at his face. "That's not what I meant!... yeah, I'm happy, Joel. I love you, and nothing is going to change that. But-"_

 _Joel looks at her face now. "But... you want more- right?" he finishes for her._

 _Ellie smiles at him. "Yeah!... don't you want that?... I want to feel free with our love. I mean, I want to hold your hand or kiss you when we're outside the house. I want to tell all those women that try to seduce you sometimes to get the fuck off, because you're mine. And I-"_

" _Ha, ha, ha… nobody is trying to seduce me."_

" _Yeah, they are… Nancy did, remember?... and I know that others do, too. I just want-"_

 _Joel moves his hand from the back of his head and adjusts himself to a sitting position. "Ellie, the Nancy thing was like a year ago. I was never interested in her like that, or any woman in this town. I love you and only you. So you don't need to feel worried about that."_

" _Yeah, I know, I know… but sometimes I just feel jealous. And don't you want us to be permanent?... like Tommy and Maria? So that way, we don't have to hide our feelings. And maybe someday we can have children, too," says Ellie with a smile on her face._

 _Children!? he says to himself. Joel tries to hide the expression as soon as he hears that. Ellie has mentioned it a few times, that she wants to have children someday. But Joel convinced her that it was too early to think about that. He lost Sarah when the infection started, and that almost destroyed him. Having another child in a world like this and losing it is terrifying to him. Besides, he is almost 54 and Ellie is 20; having a kid now is going to be hard for both of them. "Ellie, we don't need to be married to be happy - you already said that you're happy with what we have, right? So why do we need to risk what we have now?"_

" _Yeah, I am, Joel… but being married to you would be cool and make me happier…" She looks away so he can't see the few tears forming in her eyes. "Okay, it's a little late, so it's better if we get some sleep." She moves away from him and lays on the other side of the bed with her back facing him._

 _Joel looks at her and knows that she is sad, but he knows that she's not going to say anything. They've had this conversation a few times and it always ends the same way. He doesn't know why she wants that so badly. Maybe because she never had a real family and wants to start one. He knows that people don't need to be married to fall in love or be happy. But he knows that that is important to her, and Joel only wants to make her happy. So he starts planning on how to make her dream come true. He already found a ring, he just needs more time to plan the way to ask her, and make sure that his brother or Maria won't get mad about it._

 _Joel moves behind her and puts one arm around her waist and his head on her neck. He gives her a little kiss there and speaks in her ear. "You're mad at me, kiddo?" asks Joel in a lower voice._

" _No!... yes!... I don't know… I just want to get some sleep, Joel, I'm tired."_

" _Yeah, I know that I'm difficult sometimes. But don't worry, kiddo, I'll find the way to tell them about us, I promise. I just need more time, okay?" Joel gives her a kiss on the cheek this time and starts to move away from her. "Good night, kiddo." But before he gets to the other side of the bed, Ellie grabs his arm and turns to look at him._

" _Joel!... don't go." Joel moves back to his previous position and cuddles behind her. Ellie grabs the arm that he put around her and interlaces his fingers with hers._

" _Don't worry, kiddo, I ain't going anywhere." He holds her tight, then puts his head on her shoulder and kisses her on the neck again._

" _Joel!" she says slowly._

" _Hum?"_

 _Ellie moves to face him. "If you want to make it up to me… I need you to make love to me… again!"_

Joel opens his eyes and looks at the ring. He doesn't know how long he's been looking at it, but he is going to make sure that Ellie has it back. _I'm going to find you, kiddo, I promise._

(Back in the mercenary camp)

James walks close to the truck where the mechanic are working. "Hey, Brandon, are you any closer to fixing the truck?... if you don't know yet, we need to get out of here as soon as possible," says the leader of the mercenaries.

"Well, I fixed the part that was damaged, but it's going to take me at least 5 hours to put it back together," answers Brandon while he cleans his hand with an old T-shirt.

The boss looks at him furiously. "What?... 5 more hours?... you were supposed to finish that this morning."

"Sir, even if Brandon fixes the truck, it's not going to work much anyway. With all the snow that's been falling for the last few days, all the roads and paths are going to be blocked. So it's going to be impossible to get out of here in that," answers Billy.

James looks at the man, surprised. "Well, that is good to know… Billy." Then he turns to look at Brandon again. "Just finish the truck, okay!" Then he turn backs back to Billy. "And you tell the others to pack all they can - we're going to get out of here before the sun goes down." Then he walks away. After a few minutes, he arrives at the room where Ellie is. When he opens the door, he sees Ellie sitting on an old mattress that they have in there, with her back against the wall.

Ellie looks up at him as soon as he enters the room. "If you came to ask more questions, I already told you that I don't know what the Fireflies want with me. Also, being with my hands tied behind my back is starting to hurt."

James kneels in front of her. "Well, that's too bad, because you're going to get more pain if you don't start to to tell me what I need. Or maybe you prefer me to hurt the boy… ummm… yeah, maybe that can work, too."

"I don't know what to tell you - I really don't know what the Fireflies want with the kid or me. I jus-"

*Smack*

James backhands Ellie across her face, making her head turn to the side. When she turns her head to look at the man, he has a mad expression. Ellie tastes some of the blood that comes out of her busted lip. The man stands up and looks down at her. "I told you to stop lying." The man moves away while Ellie stays looking at him, waiting for his next move. She tries to stay calm, even feeling the pain in her face. She's had her hands tied behind her back for so long that they're starting to hurt, too. The man stays in front of her for a moment, then he speaks again. "Look, I have a deal with these Fireflies… to find a boy in these mountains. They didn't give us the description of the boy or any explanation, just the age that he's supposed to be and a picture of his mom."

Ellie looks at the man with surprised eyes. _Why are the Fireflies looking for the boy? The only reason I can think of is that the boy has to be immune like me or something like that. But how do they know this boy is the one they're looking for?_ she says to herself, then she speaks. "You say that they're looking for a boy, right? So how do you know it's him?" asks Ellie with some curiosity.

The man stops and looks at her. "We're not sure if this boy is the one they're looking for. But we've been looking around this mountain for the last year, and never found one until now. So we called them as soon as we found him and told them that we found a boy and a young woman in a slave camp. They didn't believe us at first, but later, they said that they need to check the boy to confirm it's him. Then when I told them about you and mentioned your name, they were eager to come here quick and pick you up fast." The man moves away from Ellie, but continues. "I was intrigued about why they want you more than the kid, and when I asked for a better deal for you, they just cut the transmission and didn't call again."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because they're sending soldiers here to get you and the kid."

"So I presume that they're not going to pay you for us… right?" Ellie smiles at that, even if she shouldn't, because it's not going to be good for her if the Fireflies get their hands on her.

The man looks at her with a mad expression. "You think that this is going to end good for you?" He kneels in front of her again and grabs her face. Ellie tries to shake his hand off, but can't.

"I lost a few men in this ridiculous quest, and if they're not going to pay us, I'm going to make sure that they don't get either of you two."

Before he does something else, a man enters the room in a hurry. "Hey, boss, Marcus intercepted another transmission. And he wants to talk with you as soon as possible," says the man.

James turns to look at the man. "Tell him that I'll be there in a minute... and go tell Brandon that I need that truck fixed... ASAP?"

"Yes sir!" answers the man and then moves away.

James turns again to face Ellie. "This is not over - if I can't get what I want… from the Fireflies? Maybe I can get it from someone else." He pushes Ellie down on the mattress and stands up. He gives her a last look, then walks out of the room, closing the door behind him. Ellie looks at the door and tries to think of what to do next.

(A few hours later in the forest)

It takes all day for Bibi and Joel to get down the mountain. They didn't talk much during the travel, only the necessities and what they're going to do when they get to the place. After Bibi finds the trail that takes them to a hill close to the valley where the old wood refinery is, they dismount from the horses and walk the rest of the way until they get to a little cliff.

Bibi stops and moves to the saddlebag, takes out the binoculars, and walks close to the cliff. As soon as she gets to the border, Bibi starts looking down, searching for the place. After a few minutes, Joel walks away from his horse and gets beside her.

"Did you find the place?" asks Joel while he looks down into the valley.

"Not yet... there's a lot of snow down there, and it's going to be dark soon," she says while continuing to search. And after a minute, she fixes her sight on one spot. "I found it," she says, passing the binoculars to Joel. Joel takes it and starts looking. "Just follow those big trees to the right and you'll see it," says Bibi, trying to make Joel look in the direction she says.

"Yeah, I see it now… the place is still a little far. It's going to take us more than an hour to get there."

"Yeah, probably more if it starts snowing again… and looking at the sky, that's going to be soon."

Joel lowers the binoculars and looks at her. "Well, then it's better for us to get there before that." He gives the binoculars back to Bibi and starts to walk back to his horse. "Do you know this area?" asks Joel.

"My dad and I found this place when we started to travel through this forest. That was before we found the cabin," Bibi says with a sad tone. Then she moves close to the horse and gets up. She moves the horse to the side, and starts moving toward the path that takes them down the hill. Joel does the same and follows her.

"So do you know a close place where we can leave the horses?... It's better if we leave them far away, so that way, we can go in there without them noticing us."

"Well, I think I know a perfect place close to the river. We can leave the horses there so they don't freeze to death," she says while they continue down the hill.


	13. Chapter13:Taking back what is ours Part1

**Disclaimer :** **I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 13 : Taking back what is ours Part- 1**

(One hour after the transmission)

James is in his room, still packing a bit of his stuff that he has left into a box, when his second-in-command comes into the room. "Sir, are you sure that you want us to go now?... I mean, the transmission that Marcus intercepted said that the Firefly group was delayed due to the storm," says Bill, moving close to James.

James finishes putting a few things in the box on top of his desk, then turns to look at him. "I'm aware of that, Bill, but as the deal with the Fireflies is off, it's better for us to get out as soon as possible," says James while he closes the box. "We're getting out of here, but before that, I want to leave a little gift for those betraying assholes."

"So what do you have in mind?... because even if Brandon fixed the truck in time, I don't think that we all are going to get too far in it." Bill moves around the room with some concern.

"Ah, you don't need to worry about that. The truck is going to be ready. And also, we can take whatever the Fireflies used to come here. I don't think they're going to need it after they enter this building and get the little surprise I'm going to have for them."

"I don't understand, sir… what exactly are you going to do?" asks Bill curiously.

"Well, for starters, I want you to go down there and tell Ryker to come see me right away. I have a little job for him. Then go and tell the men to prepare their gear and weapons. I need them ready to go in one hour."

"Yes, boss," says Bill, then he leaves the room.

(half an hour later)

Ellie is in the small room, sitting on the mattress. The pain in her face is less severe now, but she knows that it's going to leave a mark later. Ellie is getting worried, as the leader of this group is starting to get desperate, which is making him more dangerous. Ellie knows that she needs to get out of there now. Before the Fireflies arrive to get her and the kid. She needs to think of a plan and be ready to escape when they come to the room again. The first thing she needs to do is get her hands free. Ellie starts to check the room, looking for something that she can use to cut the rope that ties her hands. The room is a little dark, as it doesn't have any windows; the only light that enters the room comes from a few holes in the walls.

With some effort, Ellie stands up. Her head still hurts a little, and her arms are almost numb from being tied up for a long time. After she is up, Ellie starts to look around until she finds a piece of metal that is stuck in one of the walls. " _Great, I think that can work, I just hope that I can cut this rope before one of them comes back here,"_ Ellie says in a lower voice. Then she moves close to the wall with the metal and turns around. Ellie moves her back toward the wall until she finds the metal and starts to move her arms up and down, so that way, the metal can cut the rope that holds her hands behind her back.

(At the same time)

Outside, Joel and Bibi are moving between trees while they are getting close to the building. They leave the horses in an abandoned cabin a few miles away from the old wood factory. They take out from the bag all the weapons and things they are going to need when they get there. It is starting to snow a little by the time they arrive at the place. Joel moves behind a big tree and kneels down. Then he takes the binoculars out and starts to check the place.

"Do you see anyone?" asks Bibi while she kneels beside him.

"I can see only one... he's on the right side of the building... I think he's smoking. But I bet that there has to be more hiding on the other side," says Joel, lowering the binoculars and looking at her.

"How many men do you think they have?" asks Bibi, a little worried.

"Well, at least a dozen, maybe more. From what I can see, they've been using this place for a long time now. So even if there were 5 or 8 in the truck when they attacked the camp, there has to be more of them in there.

"Well... going through the front door is not an option... So what is the plan?"

Joel turns around and starts to look through the binoculars again. "Our options are... knowing how many there are and attacking them by surprise. But I don't think that we have much time for that. So the second option is to try to get in there without getting noticed, and get Ellie and your kid out before they discover that we're here," explains Joel as he starts to think about a third option.

"Yeah, all that is going to be difficult, with only the two of us… But maybe the second option is more possible to do. We just need a way in and a distraction."

Joel takes a look at the place with the binoculars, and after a few moments, he looks back at her. "Well, you said that you knew this place… right?" Joel moves away from the bushes and moves close to her. "So, do you remember another way in?" asks Joel quickly.

"Let me see." Bibi starts to look at the place, trying to remember. She hasn't been in this place for a long time, so things could have changed - especially if these people are using this as a base. "Ohh, I think that there's some kind of ventilation on the back wall. But before getting in there, we need to know in what part of the building they have Liam and Ellie."

Joel turns toward the part of the building where the guard is. "Oh… just leave that to me, but you are going to help me," says Joel with a smirk on his face.

A few minutes later, Bibi is moving behind a tree close to the right side of the building, while Joel moves to another tree on the opposite side. As Joel sees the guard moving close to where he was, he gives a signal to Bibi to make her move to get the guard's attention.

Bibi moves out from the tree and starts to walk slowly in the direction of the guard. When the guard looks in her direction and sees her, he drops the cigarette and starts to walk toward her. "Hey!... stop right there," orders the guard as he points his gun at her. "Who are you?... what are you doing here?"

"Sorry to bother you, but…. I've been walking for weeks… and I haven't eaten anything… and-"

"I said stop!... I don't care what your problem is - put your hands up and shut up." The man continues walking toward her, and as soon as he passes Joel, Joel moves quickly behind the man and grabs him by the neck with his arm. Joel pushes the man to the closest tree and hits the guard's head on it.

The man starts to feel a little disoriented, but before he screams, Joel quickly punches the man in his side, taking the air out of him. After that, he grabs the man by the shirt and hits him several times in his face.

After that, Joel grabs the beaten man, pulls him behind the building, and pins the man to the wall. "Okay… I need some information, and you're going to give it to me. First, I want to know where are the girl and the boy that you took from the slave camp?" asks Joel with a hard voice.

"W-what?... I don't know w- uhhhh..." Joel punches him in the guts before he finishes.

Bibi moves behind Joel. "Don't try to lie to us, or he is going to start to do ugly things to you. So start by telling us how many Fireflies are in there?"

The man looks at them with a surprised face. "Fireflies?... we're not Fireflies?... who are you?" asks the man after he spits some blood on the ground.

Joel and Bibi look at each other, then at the man. "You're not Fireflies?... so who the hell are you people?" asks Bibi with a harsh tone.

Joel starts to look at the uniform he's wearing. "Look... right now, I don't give a shit if you're Fireflies or not. I just want to know where you have the girl and the boy?" asks Joel, pressing the man to the wall.

"Fuck you!... I'm not going to say anything," the man says while spitting more blood on the ground. "If you're not with the Fireflies either!... you two don't have any chance to get out of here alive."

Bibi moves away from them, a little mad. "We're wasting our time here... he's not going to talk. So let's just kill him and find another one that'll be willing to talk," says Bibi, pointing her gun at the man.

The man opens his eyes wide when he sees Joel pull out a hunting knife and put it in front of his face. "No, the bullet is going to be to quick and make too much noise. But don't worry, I have a better way to make him talk," he says while he smiles at the man's face.

Ten minutes later, Joel and Bibi arrive at the back part of the building where the ventilation system can be seem. "Why didn't you kill that bastard… what do you think he's going to do when he wakes up?"

Joel stops, looks up, and sees the hole in the wall, a few meters up. "I don't think he's going to wake up any time soon. Besides, he's not going anywhere with that wound in his leg. And tied up on a tree... Now, how are we going to fit in there?" says Joel, looking at the hole.

Bibi shakes her head and looks at him. "You can't - it's too small for you, but I can."

Joel turns and looks at her. "And how are you going to get to Ellie and your kid?... The man said that there are 10 more men inside. There's no way that you can fight them alone."

"I don't have to, if they are occupied with something else. The man also said that they're expecting a group of Fireflies, so we can use that to-"

Joel interrupts her. "Help us?... And what makes you think that's going to help us?... If the Fireflies are coming, we need to get them out before they arrive here."

"I think we can use that to distract them. You can use the few grenades we have and make them think that the Fireflies are here. So that way, I can get in and-"

"Wait... wait… you want me to distract them?" asks Joel, moving away from the wall and close to her.

"Well, I just did that for you. Besides, it's the only way that we can do this. I'm going inside and you give me like 15 to 20 minutes before starting. The man said that they have Ellie and Liam in one of the storage rooms in the back. Away from the main area of the building, so it's going to be close to here. Your distraction is going to give me enough time to get them out the same way I will go in," Bibi explains as she takes out her backpack and starts to take out some grenades.

"I should be the one to go in there," Joel says with a firm voice.

"Why?... because you're a man… or because you don't trust me enough to do this?"

"No!... because Ellie ain't going to try to kill me if I go in there."

Bibi shakes her head. "Well, let's hope that she doesn't do that... Here!" She passes the grenade to Joel. "Okay!... try not to throw them too close to the building... we don't want to get the building on fire… with us inside." After that, Bibi closes the backpack and moves to the wall.

"Yeah, thanks for the information… But I think that I know how to do this." Joel looks at her while she starts to climb some tubes on the wall. When she is halfway up, Joel starts to walk away.

(inside the building)

James is inside the communication room with Marcus and Bill. "Any new communication?" he asks Marcus.

"No… we've had nothing since the last one," answers the man.

"Okay, then pack everything and put in the truck." He turns to look at Bill. "I want the rest of the things on the truck in half an hour. After that, I want you, Marcus, and two more men to take the truck and move out." James starts to move out, but Bill stops him by putting one hand on his shoulder.

"Are you sure about that?" asks Bill with some concern in his voice.

"Yes, my friend, just take the truck and go back to the Nevada hideout. I will take the rest of the men and go north. If any Fireflies survive, they will follow us. The little surprise is ready?" asks James, moving out of the room with Bill behind him.

"Yes, everything is set…" Bill answers him from behind.

"Good… those Fireflies are going to pay for all this."

"What about the prisoners?"

"You take the boy with you. I will take the girl," answers James with a smile on his face.

"That girl is going to give you trouble. Do you think it's wise to keep her with you?"

"Ah... don't you worry, I know how to keep her docile if she tries something. Besides, I want to find out why she is so important to the Fireflies. So that way, we can make a new deal with the military or someone else. Now go and get the boy from the small building and prepare to go."

"Yes sir," says Bill, moving away.

A few minutes later, Bibi comes out of the ventilation system and jumps onto a nearby platform. After she lands, she moves quickly behind a few old wood boxes and hides. The place doesn't have much illumination, and at the moment, that's good for her. Bibi starts to look at the place, and even though it doesn't look big, it's going to take some time to get to the rooms part. She starts to look for the stairs to get down to the ground level. The platform is only like a small corridor with some pipes to grab on to. It was used at one point as a bridge to cross to the other side of the building, but now it's half broken.

As Bibi starts to move, she sees the truck in the distance; it's close to the main entrance of the building. She also sees a few men moving things inside. But lucky for her, she doesn't see anyone close to her position. So she walks to the other side of the platform, in the direction the rooms are suppose to be. But as soon as she sees the stairs, she hears an explosion coming from outside.

 _BOOOOOM!_

" _What the hell, Joel?... I told you to give me 20 minutes,"_ she says in a lower voice. Soon after that, another explosion can be heard at the front of the building. Bibi sees a few men in the distance running toward the entrance. As she continues walking, she hears some machine guns starting to fire. "Well, at least he is making them move to the front, so the distraction is working." She starts to move again, slowly, until she finds the stairs and moves down. She takes out her 9mm and looks around to make sure that no one sees her. The ground level has a lot of old cut trees and some old machines. Then she proceeds to look for the rooms before someone sees her.

In the front part of the building, James's men continue shooting at the attacker. James comes running and hides behind a wall as another explosion occurs close to the door. "What the hell is happening?... the Fireflies aren't supposed to be in here that fast," he says to one of his men while they continue shooting.

"I don't know, sir, one of the guys that was patrolling the perimeter found Jax tied up in a tree and unconscious. And when he started to call for help, someone started to shoot at him."

"We need more time," he says after doing some shooting and getting down again. "Where's Bill?... did he come back from the other building with the kid?" he asks while ducking a bullet.

"No sir, he didn't come back here before all this shit started."

"Fuck!... there's no way to get the truck out through the front." He starts to look around while the shooting continues from both sides. "Hey you!" he calls one of his younger men. "Go and tell Marcus to take a few men and go cover the back."

"Yes sir!" says the boy before he runs toward the truck.

"What's the plan, boss?" asks the man beside him.

"We're going to let them in, then we'll get to the truck and go out through the back wall. So keep them occupied while I go and get the girl." The man nods, then starts to move from the door and toward the back of the building.

As soon as Ellie gets the rope cut, she moves away from the wall and starts to knead her wrists and arms to lessen the pain that she has from having her hands in that position for so long. Ellie moves close to the door as soon as she hears some explosions and gunshots outside. _Shit!.._ _So the Fireflies just arrived. I need to get out of her ASAP,_ she says to herself while moving close to the door. Ellie tries to hear if someone is coming for her, and after a few minutes, she hears some footsteps getting close to the door, so she moves to the side and waits for the person to enter. Ellie knows that doing that can be dangerous, but she needs to get out fast.

Ellie doesn't want to fall in the hands of the Fireflies. Not after what happened the last time. And she doesn't know what they're going to do to her now, or to the child inside of her. _Okay, Ellie, you can do this. Let's just hope that it's only one man and not a bunch of them... I just wish that Joel would be here, or at least be coming to rescue me. I'm not even sure if he's still alive… please just be._ She moves back a little as she hears someone on the other side trying to force the door.

After a minute, the person kicks the door open. Lucky for Ellie, the room is a little dark, so as soon as she sees the shadow of a person coming in, she grabs him by the arm. Ellie quickly hits the hand hard, where the person has a gun, and knocks it away. Then she punches the person in the face so hard that they fall to the ground. As soon as Ellie sees the person go down, she picks up the gun from the floor and points it in the direction of the fallen person. "Ohhh!... Fuck!... what the hell did you do that for?" The darkness of the room doesn't let Ellie see the face of the person on the floor very well. But as soon as she hears a woman's voice, she moves closer to see who it is.

"YOU!..." Ellie says with a surprised expression on her face.


	14. Chapter14:Taking back what is ours Part2

**Disclaimer: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

 **A/N: I want to thank you to all the people that follow/favorite this story and all my other. All that make the writers feel good about their work, so thank you. Also we like to know you opinion in our stories, so don't be free to left you opinion there. Thank you for all you support and enjoy the Christmas holidays.**

* * *

 **Chapter 14 : Taking back what is ours Part- 2**

Ellie can't believe who the person is: the same woman that drugged her and Joel so those men could take them. It's her: the one that separated her from Joel, and the one that might even be responsible for his death. "You!... you bitch!... I know that you worked with those slaver people, but now you work for these people, too?" says Ellie furiously and moving closer while pointing the gun at her.

Bibi is really surprised, even though Joel warned her about Ellie doing something to her. But she didn't expect this. "Wait... what?... No!... no, no... I'm not working with these people. And about what happened before - I didn't have a choice." Bibi puts her hands in a surrender position when she sees that Ellie isn't going to change her mind. "Please, don't shoot... I'm just trying to help you… you and-" She is interrupted by Ellie.

"Help me!... You really think that I'm going to believe you after what you did to me… and Joel. I just want to know one thing before I blow your head off… They told me that they killed you, and Joel… is that true?...Because if they killed him because of you, I'm going to shoot you in your legs and leave you here to die slowly." Bibi can't believe what she just heard, but can see the hurt in Ellie's face.

She knows that they love each other, but to this point… she sees Ellie move in front of her and put the gun to her forehead. "We trusted you and you… and you did this to us… so tell me, what happened to Joel?..."

Bibi wants to tell her how sorry she is - she just did this to save her son. She even risked his life, trying to undo what she did. But she can't find the words, so she tries the best she can. "I came... to rescue you... you and my son… please… Joel- I can tell you that he is-" She doesn't finish, as a man stops in the entrance of the room and yells.

"ELLIE, DON'T!..." Ellie opens her eyes wide as soon as she hears the voice, a voice that she knows well. A voice that she wasn't sure she would hear again.

Ellie turns her head quickly and looks at the man in the doorframe. "Joel!?" It's the only word that comes out of her mouth.

"Yes, kiddo, it's me!... I was looking for you and-" Joel stops when he sees Ellie run toward him and jump in his arms with a happy face. As soon as Ellie is on him, she puts her hands around his neck and her legs around his waist. Joel moves his hands and grabs her quickly so she doesn't fall down. He is happy too, to have her in his arms again. Joel is going to say something to her, but Ellie stops him by moving her head from his shoulder to the front of his face and kisses him.

Her kiss is so deep that it looks like she wants to eat his mouth. She sucks his lips, trying to remember how it felt the last time she kissed him. As much as Ellie wants to be like that forever, she knows that they need to get out of there. So after a minute, she breaks the kiss and looks at him. Seeing his face again is a miracle to her... being in his arms, feeling his hands on her. Ellie puts her forehead to his and closes her eyes as some tears start to fall down her cheeks. "Fuck, Joel!... I thought you were dead... shit!... don't do this to me again… okay?" Ellie says in a lower voice.

Joel closes his eyes, too… being separated from her all this time was making him crazy, but now all that is over. "Don't worry, kiddo... I promised that I'm never going to leave you again... remember," says Joel, hugging her harder.

Bibi stands up from the ground, passing her hand over her jaw, where Ellie just punched her. Then she starts to look around, trying to to see if her son is there. When she doesn't see her son in the room, she walks toward Joel and Ellie. "Sorry to interrupt your lovely reunion… but where is my son?" Her question is directed more at Ellie.

Joel moves his head away from Ellie and looks at Bibi. "He ain't here?" he asks with a worried expression.

Ellie opens her eyes and looks at Joel; hearing the woman asking for her son is a little surprising to her. So she starts to let go of Joel, and gets down and puts her feet on the floor. Then Ellie turns around and looks at the woman. "Your son?... I don't understand," she says, looking back at Joel.

Joel looks at Ellie's surprised face, remembering that she doesn't know about Bibi's son. "The slavers had her son - that's... why… she did what she did," says Joel with a sad tone.

Ellie looks back at Bibi. "They had your son… you mean Liam?... Liam is your son?" she asks with a surprised expression.

Bibi moves close to Ellie and grabs her by the shoulder. "Yes… he is my son. And as we didn't find him there, I thought at first that the Fireflies took him and you."

"But these people are not Fireflies!.. They are just some mercenaries or something that made a deal with them."

"We know… one of the guards told us… well, sort of. But he's not here with you. Do you know what happened to him?" Bibi lets go of Ellie and starts to ask desperately.

Ellie looks in her eyes, knowing that she is telling the truth. "He is here, but I don't know where they took him." Then she turns back to Joel. "I think they mentioned another building close to here, so maybe he-" Ellie stops when she sees a man approaching from the corridor, as Joel has his back to the door and doesn't see him coming. So Ellie moves the gun she has in her hand and points it at the man. The action is in slow motion, and she doesn't have much time to do something. As soon as she sees that the man is going to shoot Joel in the back, Ellie quickly pushes Joel to the side and aims the gun toward the man behind them, and before Joel can react, Ellie starts shooting.

James jumps to the side as soon as he sees Ellie shooting at him, but before he dodges the shot, one of the bullets hits him in the leg. "Ahrrrr!" he screams in pain as soon as he hits the floor, and hides behind a wall. Then he starts to shoot back at her. But by the time he does that, Ellie, Joel, and Bibi have moved behind the wall inside the room and started to shoot back at him.

James takes a few more shots before he starts to speak. "Your boss!... has a lot of nerve to sending you here to attack us... After we had a deal!... you motherfuckers!... you're mistaken if you think that you're going to take the boy and girl for free?" James says as he reloads his gun.

Bibi looks at Joel from the other side of the wall, wanting to know now how Joel got inside the building. "Hey, how did you get in here?... you're supposed to be distracting them, remember?" she asks while watching Joel shoot at the man. But before he can answer, another explosion is heard from outside - and more shooting, too. "What in the hell was that?" She looks away from him and starts to think. "If you're here!... who is outside attacking this place?"

Joel looks at her while Ellie shoots back. "Oh, yeah… those will be the real Fireflies," he says with a worried expression.

"WHAT!" both women say at the same time.

Joel doesn't want to explain this right now, but they need to know. "Yeah, after you went in, a few of them showed up. I had to hide while they started to move to the front, but one of these men found the guy we left tied up in the tree. When he called for help, the Fireflies started shooting them."

Ellie looks at him with a worried expression now. "So what are we going to do now?... we can't fight the Fireflies and this man by ourselves…? "

"We don't just need to get out of here - we need to find my son," adds Bibi.

"Well, let's hope that they get very busy with killing each other. But first, we need to get out of this room," says Joel while he takes some shots.

"Oh... I think I have something for that." Bibi takes out her backpack and takes out something… in her hand, Bibi has a cylinder grenade. "I think this is going to do the trick." She pulls the holding ring out and throws it in the direction of the man. As soon as the thing hits the floor close to him, it explodes. It's a flash grenade that Bibi found with the other weapons that she was hiding in that old cave. The light illuminates that part of the corridor, blinding the men.

Joel and Ellie stop shooting while Joel looks at Bibi. "What the hell was that?... now they know that we're here," says Joel, standing up and grabbing Ellie by the arm.

"Sorry about that - I thought it was a smoke grenade," she says with an apologetic tone, then she stands up and follows them out.

Joel moves quickly toward where the man is and kicks the gun out of his hand. Then Joel grabs the man by the shirt. The man is still feeling the effects of the flash grenade. A moment later, the man opens his eyes and looks at him. Bibi moves beside Joel and looks at the man. "Where is my son?..." she asks him quickly.

"Son?... who the hell are you…?"

"The one that is going to kill you if you don't start talking," says Joel with a furious voice.

"I think you...already did that!…" Joel looks at the man and sees that he has three wounded spots: one in the leg, another on his shoulder, and the last one in his abdomen.

The wounds are not deadly, but he is probably going to bleed to death if he doesn't get medical attention soon. "We just came for the girl and the boy. So tell us where he is. As soon as you answer, we can get out of here. So that way, you and the Fireflies can kill each other."

"You're not… going to… get out… of here… alive." The man starts to get weak. "You all are… going to… die!"

Bibi tries to push Joel away from the man, so that way, she can make him talk. "Just tell her what you did wit-"

"Watch out!" Ellie starts to shoot at two men that came through the corridor that leads to the front part of the building. Joel lets go of the man's shirt and moves to cover. The man falls to the floor as soon as Joel and the others move away. "We need to get out of here before the Fireflies get in," says Ellie as they run toward another corridor.

"I'm not going anywhere without my son," says Bibi, running behind them. One of the men continues following them and shooting, while the other stops to check on his boss.

"I told you that he mentioned that Liam was in another building close to this one. So maybe they still have him there." As soon as they get out in the corridor, Joel turns around and throws his last grenade at the entrance. The man sees it and tries to turn, but it's too late. Joel, Bibi, and Ellie run away as the device explodes, killing the man.

After that, they stop behind some old lumber, then they see a few Firefly men entering the place and shooting at some of James' men. "Kill all of them, and find the girl and the kid!" says one of the Firefly men. Then they hear the sound of a truck getting started and moving in a backward direction. "They're in the truck - don't let them escape!" yells the man, then some of his men start to chase the truck and shoot at it.

Bibi moves in front to watch the confrontation. "We have to go after them, too," she says in a desperate tone. "My son could be in that truck." Then she sees how one of the Fireflies is pointing an rocket launcher toward the truck and firing at the front of it. She sees in horror how the truck tries to evade the missile, but the thing hits the front part of the truck, and part of the driver seat blows up.

"NOOOOOO!..."


	15. Chapter15:Taking back what is ours Part3

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15 : Taking back what is ours Part- 3**

"NOOOOO!-" Bibi screams as soon as she sees the front of the truck blow up. Joel moves quickly behind her and covers her mouth with one hand and grabs her waist with the other, and pulls her down behind a big pile of old wood. Ellie hides too, as she sees one of the men look in their direction. But since he doesn't see them, he continues toward the truck that crashed into the back wall of the building.

Bibi is struggling in Joel's arms, trying to get away from him. She mumbles something into Joel's hand, but as he is stronger than her, he manages to keep her down. "You need to calm down, okay… We don't know if your son was in there, and if they discover us, we're all going to die," says Joel in a lower voice, trying to calm her down. Ellie moves to the corner of the big pile of wood, and takes a look where the Fireflies are.

The group of Fireflies moves close to the truck, where a lot of smoke comes out from the front part. "You two go to the back and check if the girl and kid are there." Ellie observes two men move to the back and start to check it out. "Did you find anyone in there?" asks the man a minute later.

A few minutes later, one of the men moves out of the back of the truck. "No, sir!... there's no one in here... it's just some boxes and equipment." Then a man comes out from the other side of the truck, all wounded, and starts shooting at the Fireflies. He kills two of them before the others take him down. Another explosion is heard on the other side of the building, and more gunshots. The Fireflies start to load their guns.

The rest of the men move toward the side of the truck while the leader starts to talk to them. "There's still more of them, so call Roger and tell him to cover the perimeter," he says to one of the men, then he looks at the others. "The rest of you, come with me - they have them here somewhere… let's find them." After that, they start to move away.

"They're going away," says Ellie, looking back at Joel and Bibi.

"Your boy wasn't there… see!" says Joel, moving his hand away from her mouth and letting her go. "Sorry about that, but if I let you go, they would've discovered us."

Bibi gets up and moves away from him. Then she looks at Joel with a furious expression. "Yeah, for you, it's easy now… You have your girl back, but what about my son? We don't know where they have him, or…" she finishes with a sad tone.

Ellie moves close to her and puts one hand on her shoulder. "We're going to find him, okay!?… The leader said that he has him in the other building. Let's go there and see if they're still there," says Ellie with confidence.

"That's right - the Fireflies are concentrating their attack here. So let's go there and have a look - maybe we'll get lucky and they'll have him there. Do you know how to get there without being seen?" asks Joel.

Bibi starts to think for a moment, then looks at them. "Yeah, follow me." The three of them start to move away… moving through the trunks and old boxes, avoiding any confrontation. They see a few Firefly troops still fighting some of the mercenary men. A few minutes later, they find a door that leads outside the building. When they go out, it's already dark, and it's still snowing, but not as bad as the storm. Even with the moonlight, it's pretty dark. "There!" says Bibi, pointing to the small building close by. "I think the people that worked here before the virus used that building for the workers to sleep in."

They start to walk toward the building, covering their faces with their arms. Bibi is in the front and Joel is holding Ellie close to him while they walk behind her. Joel looks at Ellie and speaks in a lower voice. "Why do they keep the kid in a different building?" asks Joel curiously.

"I'm not sure, but the leader said that the Fireflies are looking for him," Ellie answers him, but Joel is feeling that something else is going on.

"Well, that's strange. I know why they might be looking for you, but why are they looking for a 5-year-old kid?"

Ellie looks at him with a worried expression. She moves her head close to him whisper. "Joel… I think... that the boy could be immune, too." Joel looks at her, surprised. "I think that the mercenaries aren't sure if the boy is the one that the Fireflies are looking for. I think he is. But what I don't understand is how Liam can be Bibi's son. They don't look... you know… alike?" Ellie gives him a clueless expression.

"Well, there's an explanation for that. But it's better if we talk about that later, okay?" Then Joel looks forward and sees that Bibi is slowing her pace as they are getting close to the place. Lucky for them, they didn't cross any troopers on the way there.

Ellie looks at Joel with a worried expression. "Joel!"

Joel stops and grabs Ellie by the shoulder, turning her so she can see his face. "Ellie… I know that with all this, I didn't have the chance to-" He stops as soon as he sees Ellie's face. Now that he's not so distracted by her kissing, Joel notices the small bruises on her face. "Ellie!... did they hit you?..." He looks down at her body for a moment, then looks up at her face again. "Did they hurt you in any other way, or…" He stops when he sees Ellie's relaxed face.

"I'm fine, Joel… Everything is fine." She puts her hands on both sides of his face and gives him a big kiss. After a minute, they separate, and touch their foreheads together.

"Oh… baby... I'm so sorry… if I didn't-" Ellie puts one finger on his lips to stop him.

"Shhh… it's okay, Joel. We're fine… you're alive… I'm alive… everything is going to be fine now." Ellie moves close again and gives him a small kiss.

"Sorry for interrupting your little reunion… but we're here, and this isn't over yet," says Bibi, looking at both of them interacting.

Joel looks at Bibi and moves away from Ellie. "Yeah… right. Okay, I'll go in, and you two stay here and watch if anyone comes this way, okay?" Joel says as he takes out his gun and starts moving.

"What!" both women say at the same time.

Joel turns and looks at both of them. "Look, we don't know if your son is still in there, or how many men are there, either… So it's better if I go first and check it out."

Ellie moves close to him and grabs him by the arm to stop him. "Joel!... I already thought that you were dead. So if you think that I'm going to let you go in there alone… you're mistaken."

"Ellie!... you ain't in any condition to-" Ellie pulls out the gun that she took from Bibi and starts walking toward the building, passing Joel. "Ellie?... where are you going?" Joel starts, but then he sees Bibi pass him too, following Ellie.

"Shit!... you two are crazy…" he says in a lower voice. "Okay, fine, you two can come, too." Joel shakes his head and starts to follow the two women. The place is a two-story house, smaller than the hotel in the slave camp. Bibi tells them that it was used by the workers that stayed to work and needed a place to sleep and rest.

The three of them move close to the entrance. Joel and Bibi move to either side of the door, while Joel quickly pulls Ellie behind him and looks at her. "No matter what, you stay behind me… okay!?" Ellie gives him a look, but nods. Then Joel turns to look at Bibi. "Ready?" Bibi nods at him, grabs the door handle, and starts to open the door slowly. She is a little surprised that the door isn't locked. She opens it and starts to move into the lobby of the place. It's a little illuminated by a fire in the fireplace that's in the wall close to the counter.

Joel enters after her with Ellie behind him. He moves close to the fire that's keeping the place warm while Bibi is checking the other side. They don't see anyone there, and the place is in complete silence. "The fire ain't too old, so that means that the person who started it has to be in here. So be careful... he must be hiding and waiting for us," says Joel, moving now toward the counter.

Bibi walks close to the stairs that lead to the rooms on the second floor. The place doesn't have a lot of things, and most of the furniture is broken or in bad shape. Joel sees a door behind the counter that probably leads to the kitchen or an office of the place. "Ellie, stay here and watch the door, just in case. I'll go back there and take a look." Ellie looks at him as he starts to move.

"I'll check the second floor," says Bibi, moving up the stairs.

Joel stops and moves away from the counter door. "No!... wait for me - it's better if we go together. There could be someone up there, hiding in one of rooms." Joel is going to say something to Ellie, but stops as soon as he sees the door behind the counter get opened violently. Then he sees a man walk through it with a shotgun in his hand.

"Take this, you bastards!" says the man, shooting at Joel, but missing when Joel moves to the side. The man quickly aims at Joel again, but before the man has the time to shoot,

Joel jumps on him, grabs the weapon, and moves it away from him. The man takes a second shot, but it hits the wall on the other side. Joel grabs the man's arm and starts to fight for the gun. As they continue, Joel pushes him back to the door, and both of them go into the room.

"JOEL!..." Ellie screams as soon as she sees Joel and the other man fall onto the floor of the room, which is a small kitchen. Ellie runs into the room, but as soon as she goes through the door, another shot is fired. She dodges the shot in time, but it hits the door over her head and almost hits her.

Joel turns his head and looks at the door, where he sees Ellie on the floor. Joel tightens his lips and looks back at the man. "You son of a bitch!" Joel starts to hit the man in the face with all his strength, and continues hitting him, again and again and again. "You like to hit women, umm!..." He hits him again… "You like to shoot at them…" He hits him again, and his hand is all bloody. "If she's hurt because of you… I'm going to skin you alive, you motherfucker!" he continues, even when the man isn't moving anymore.

"Joel... stop… I'm okay… he didn't hit me… JOEL!" Ellie yells at him while she stands up and moves close, then kneels in front of him. Ellie quickly grabs his hands to make him stop. "Joel!... just look at me, okay… it's over. I'm fine... please stop. He's out." _Yeah, probably dead, too._ "Let's just go - we need to find Liam and get out of here." Ellie looks into his eyes for a moment and sees something that she hasn't seen in a long time. She feels a little worried, not because she fears him… but because of what he has to do again. Yeah, she's seen him kill before, and she knows that on this trip, they have to kill if they have to. But he's never killed someone like this before... at least, not after the move to Jackson.

As Joel stops hitting the man when Ellie grabbed him, he looks at his bloody hand. After a minute, he moves his head and looks at Ellie. "I- I'm so… sorry… baby, I… I just... He almost killed… you!"

"It's okay, Joel, we're fine," she says while hugging him. "C'mon, big guy, let's find the boy and get out of here." Both of them go up and before they get out, Ellie grabs a wool piece that she saw on one of the old tables there and cleans Joel's hands a little. When she's finished, not all the blood stains are gone, but it's clean enough for the moment. After that, both of them walk toward the door.

Before they get out, Joel stops and grabs her by the shoulders and starts to check if she has any wounds on her body. "Are you sure that you're okay?"

Ellie looks at him and sees his worried face. "Joel, I'm fine - he didn't hit me. Let's just go and find Bibi and her son and get out." As soon as Joel lets go of her, Ellie moves to the door and opens it.

When they walk out of the small kitchen, they are received by two armed men. "You two… stay where you are and put your hands up… NOW!" says one of the men while pointing at them with his gun. "Now drop your weapons and don't move." Ellie and Joel do what he says while the other one moves closer to them. "Don't try anything… And tell us where is the kid and the girl?" the man starts to ask, but as soon as he gets close to them, he takes a better look at Ellie.

"Wait... I think- I think that she is the girl!..." he says, pointing his gun at Ellie.

"But if she's the girl, where's the boy?" asks the other one.

"The boy is right here, you motherfuckers!" The man in the middle of the lobby turns around as soon as he hears the voice behind him. Joel quickly grabs Ellie and throws himself to the floor before Bibi starts shooting at the two men. They try to shoot back, but Bibi is faster, and she hits both men in different parts of their bodies. Before someone can say something else, both men fall down to the floor. Joel and Ellie pick up their guns and move close to Bibi.

They see Bibi holding a little boy against her chest with one hand and a gun in the other. But the little kid isn't moving. "Is he okay?" asks Ellie, looking at the boy's face.

"Yeah, he's breathing... I think they gave him something to sleep, those bastards," she says, lowering her gun. "Sorry I left you alone with that guy. But I thought that there could be another one upstairs and had to move fast."

"Where did you find him?" asks Ellie while she passes one hand over his head.

"Since I didn't see anyone else, I started to check the rooms and found him in one of them," answers the woman.

Joel moves to check one of the men and notices that he's wearing the Fireflies' insignia. "This one ain't one of the mercenaries - he was a Firefly man." He gets up and walks close to Ellie and Bibi. "It's better for us to get out of here before more of them come looking for these two." Both women nod and start to follow him through the door. But before they go out of the place, Ellie grabs a sheet that's close to the fireplace and puts it on top of the kid. As soon as they go out, they notice that no more gunshots or explosions can be heard. But some fire can be seen in the main building, so they continue walking into the forest and away from the place.

(15 minutes later)

Inside the wood factory, the leader of the Fireflies is giving instruction to some of his men. "Okay, now that the battle is over and all of them are dead, we need to continue the search. Did any of you find the kid and the girl?"

"Not sir, they're not here - we already searched this place. But I sent two men to another building on the other side of this one and they haven't returned yet," answers one of his men.

"Okay, send someone to check what happened to them. The rest of you - check this place again... they have to be here somewhere?" says the leader, looking at the other men.

One of the Firefly troopers comes running over and stops in front of him. "Sir, I think we found the leader of the mercenaries... he's wounded, but still alive. He's in one of the corridors in the back."

The man gives him a small smile. "That's good news - maybe he can tell us where they hid them." The leader of the Firefly group starts to follow the man with a few soldiers behind him. As soon as he gets there, he sees the wounded man on the floor. "You must be James, right?" He lowers himself to look at the man's face more closely. "Your men put up a good fight, but all that was for nothing. Now that all your men are dead, you can tell me where the kid and the girl are. And maybe I can be so generous as to give you a quick death," says the man with a smile.

James looks at him. "You're… never… going… to find them," says the mercenary leader, showing some pain when he talks.

"Well, that's going to be a little waste of our time, but we can manage that. Now, if you don't want to cooperate, I will leave you here to die slowly?... So if you'll excuse me, I have some kids to find- what the hell!?" The man looks at his hands as he moves them to the front of him. His eyes go wide as soon as he sees the thing he has in them.

"Ha,ha,ha… now who... is the winner?…" James presses the button of the device he has in his hand while he continues laughing.

 _KA-BOOMMM!_

Joel, Ellie, and Bibi look back and see the sky illuminated, followed by the sound of a big explosion. "What the hell was that?" asks Bibi.

Ellie looks behind her and Joel. "I think that that was the little surprise the leader of the mercenaries had for the Fireflies," she says to them.

Joel puts one arm around Ellie's shoulders and pulls her close to him. "C'mon, kiddo, let's move away from here. And get as far as we can, in case any of them survive that." With that, they continue walking into the forest and away from the now-burning wood factory.


	16. Chapter 16 : The secret we keep

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

 **Warning** **: I know that this story is already have a warning about sex part on it, but I always want to make sure that you get that. So this chapter is going to have a sex scene at the end, so if you don't like that don't read that part, thanks.**

* * *

 **Chapter 16 : The secret we keep**

(Few hours later, Ellie)

 _It took us almost two hours to arrive at the little cabin where Bibi and Joel said they left the horses. The trip there was tiring and cold. It stopped snowing an hour after we departed from the wood factory. The kid was trembling from the cold, even in his sleep. Bibi covered him with the blanket I gave her after we got out of the rest house. Bibi was worried about the cold affecting him. We're all worried for the little kid. What kind of people do that to a 5-year-old kid? Those bastards!... I just hope that all of them died in that explosion. Of course, I didn't say that aloud._

 _As soon as we arrived at the cabin, Joel put up a little fire to warm the place. He insisted that we shouldn't stay in there for long. He also said that even though the place was a little far away and that the snow covered our tracks, it was risky to stay long. It took me and Bibi some time to convince him to at least stay for the night and be on our way in the morning. After he gave up, he went out as soon as we were set, to set some trap to warn us in case someone gets close. Bibi laid Liam down close to the fire to keep him warm. She covered him with another sheet they had there, to keep him warm the best she can. I feel a little sorry for her, even if all of this was her fault. But I can understand why she did it. What's the most curious to me is how Liam can be her son._

 _He doesn't even look like her, so I assumed that he was adopted or something. She never told us that she had a child, but now I can see why. I put my hand on my belly, and I know in that moment that like her, I will do anything to keep my child safe. I look at her with the urge to ask her about that. But for now, I just want to know if the little kid is going to be alright._ "Hey!..." _I said to her as soon as I got close to them._ "How's he doing?... "

"He is warming up, and that's a good sign. I think that the thing they gave him to sleep was very strong… those bastards... Do you know what they gave him.. Or why they wanted to keep him like this?" Bibi asks, looking at Ellie.

"I don't know. The last time I saw him was during the attack on the slave camp. After that, I just woke up in that place and I didn't remember much. And when I asked for him, they didn't let me see him. They didn't even tell me what they did to him or where he was."

Bibi looks at her and sees the bruise on her face. "Did they hurt you, too?" she asks with a sad expression.

Ellie passes her hand over her cheek, where the leader hit her. "It's nothing, I will be fine."

"Look, Ellie… I- I'm really sorry for what happened… for what I did to you and Joel. It wasn't the right thing to do, but I need you to know that I had no choice at that time. I want to thank you for helping my son. I know that you did your best to keep him alive, even if you didn't know that he was my son," Bibi says, lowering her head and looking at the boy.

"Yeah, it wasn't a problem. But I can tell you that he's the bravest kid I ever saw, even as his age." _There's a lot of things that I want to ask her, especially what the Fireflies want from him. But I'm pretty sure that being immune has something to do with that. "_ Are you hungry?... man, I'm starving - do you have any food in here?" Ellie asks while she stands up.

"I'm not hungry… but we have some food in the bags that we left with the horses," answers Bibi, looking at her.

"The horses?... you brought them here?… that's cool… so where are they?" asks Ellie with a smile on her face.

"There's a storage room in the back of the cabin. We put them there." Ellie thanks her and runs to the back door the cabin has and goes out.

As soon as Ellie arrives at the storage room, she opens the door and sees the two horses there. She quickly moves close to hers and hugs his neck. "Hey... boy, did you miss me?" she passes one hand over the side of the horse and the other on top of his head. That seems to make him happy, as he starts to make some noise. "Ohhhh, those bad people didn't treat you good… yeah, I know. But don't worry, they're dead now, and Mama is here to take care of you."

Back inside the cabin, the door opens as Joel walks in. He's trembling because of the cold outside. He secures the door and moves close to Bibi. "How's your son?" he asks, looking at the boy that's close to her.

"He's doing fine, that's the important thing. He just needs to warm up a little."

"I'm glad to hear that… we can't stay here too long, so it's better to get some sleep and get out first thing in the morning." The woman nods, then Joel looks around, trying to see where Ellie is.

Bibi looks at him as he starts to get desperate. "Hey… if you're looking for Ellie, she's in the storage room with the horses, looking for some food." Joel looks at her and thanks her. Then he walks toward the back door and goes out.

As soon as Joel goes out, he runs toward the storage room. He doesn't want to let Ellie out of his sight for so long. When he gets there, he opens the door and goes inside. Ellie is petting her horse and giving him something to eat. When she sees Joel enter the room, she smiles as Joel moves close to her.

"Did you finish setting your… warning traps?" Ellie asks him sarcastically.

"If you call a full blowout blast explosive… a warning trap… then yeah, I finished," he says with a smile. "Ellie, you need to rest... we're moving out first thing in the morning," Joel says, getting closer to her.

Ellie moves away from the horse toward him and hugs him hard. Some tears start to escape her eyes. "Oh… Joel, you don't know how much I missed you," she says as she buries her face in Joel's chest.

Joel puts his arms around her and hugs her back. "Shhh… it's okay, baby… I'm here now… and I'm not going to let you go out of sight again," says Joel, kissing her on the top of her head. "Oh, that reminds me - I have something that belongs to you." Joel lets go of Ellie as he inserts one of his hands in the front pocket of his pants. Ellie looks at his hand, surprised, as soon as she sees what he has in it. "I think this belongs to you." Joel quickly grabs Ellie's right hand and starts to put the ring back on her finger, then he lowers his head and kisses her hand. "I love you… baby girl… and I'm so happy to have you back."

More tears start to fall from Ellie's eyes as she looks at him, not only from the emotion of happiness that she feels at having Joel's ring back on her finger, but also having him right in front of her… alive. As soon as Joel lets go of her hand, Ellie brings it close to her face and looks at the ring, now on her finger, like she always wanted. Ellie smiles as she moves both her hands close to her chest and closes her eyes. "Thank you!... I thought I lost it, or that those men took it for themselves."

Joel looks at her with a worried expression. "Ellie… I'm so-" Ellie stops him by moving close to him and hugging him hard again.

She is trying so hard to hold back the tears, but Joel is making it so difficult for her. "You… don't need… to apologize, Joel. I know that you did all you could to find me. And it makes me happy, too, to see that you're alive and that we're together again… I love you, Joel!"

"Yeah… I know, kiddo… and I'm never going to leave you again… no matter what," says Joel, tightening the hug.

"You… promise?... no matter what?" Ellie asks him, still with her head resting on his chest.

"Yeah… no matter what, kiddo… You're going to be stuck with this old man for a long time," he says, smiling.

"Good, because… I have something important that I need to tell you… so please don't be mad!" says Ellie with a worried tone.

"Ellie, I'm never going to be mad at you… well, sometimes you drive me nuts, but I love you like that."

"Well… maybe this is going to change your mind… because it's something that I know that you didn't wa-" Ellie stops when Joel moves away from the embrace and looks at her.

"Ellie, if you're talking about the baby… I already know," says Joel, looking in her eyes.

Ellie is shocked. She tries to see if he's getting pissed off about that. She knows that he didn't want children after what happened to his daughter. And also, he thought that he was too old for that, too. "You knew?" is the only thing that she can say at that moment.

"Yeah… well, I wasn't so sure at first, but the things that have been happening to you for the last month made me realize that something is happening to you. I was a father before, remember?... So I recognized some of the symptoms," he says with a smile.

"Joel, I'm so sorry, I know that you didn't want to-"

Joel puts one hand on her cheek and and wipes the tears. "Ellie, you didn't do anything wrong… so you don't need to apologize. Yeah, this is something that I wasn't expecting, especially on this trip. But this is my fault, not yours," he says with a smile. "I'm not mad about it, and even though it's a little unexpected, it makes me happy."

"Really!" she says with a big smile on her face.

"Yeah, really… this is going to be a second chance for me to be a father again… even if I feel too old for that."

Ellie puts her own hand on his cheek and smiles at him. "You're not that old… you… you- are a strong and mature man and I love you the way you are." Ellie sees the look on his face, so she continues. "You're the best man I know on this planet, even if you don't believe me. You're the man that loves me, cares for me, and will do anything for me. And I love you for that, with all my heart…" Ellie moves closer to him. "Thank you!... thank you for always being there for me when I need you." Then she puts her other hand on the other side of Joel's face and pulls him down to kiss him.

Joel puts his hands on her back and pulls her closer to him as the kiss becomes deeper and more passionate. Ellie moves her hand behind Joel's neck while she starts to introduce her tongue inside his mouth. Then Joel moves his hands down her back, until he grabs Ellie's ass and starts to squeeze it a little harder. As they continue with the passionate kiss, Ellie starts to moan into his mouth. A moment later, they move away, gasping for air. "Fuck, Joel!... I needed that… so bad… I missed it so much," says Ellie, taking a long breath.

"Yeah, me too… maybe it's better if we go back inside… you need to get some sleep… it's getting cold and-" Joel stops when Ellie's stomach makes a peculiar sound. "Well… I think that you need to eat something, too." He smiles at her, then lets go of her and starts to walk toward the bag where they keep some food. But before he goes far, Ellie moves fast and grabs the back of his belt. Joel stops and turns around to look at her. Before he has time to say something, Ellie moves closer and starts to undo his belt. "Ellie, what are you doing?" he says, a little surprised. "I don't think this is a good time for-"

"Don't worry, Joel, this is going to be fast, I promise. I- I just need it, right now," she says while she finishes undoing his belt. Joel knows what she wants to do. And even though now isn't a good time for that, he is not going to deny her that, especially since he needs it, too. So he moves his hands and starts to undo Ellie's pants. Both of them start to move fast while they continue kissing. And after a few moments, their pants are off. Ellie moves her hand away from Joel's to take off her panties, while Joel goes and takes off his boxes. When both of them are half naked, Joel grabs Ellie by the thigh and lifts her up to him. Ellie starts to kiss him while she holds herself with her hands behind his neck and her legs crossed behind his back. "Please hurry up, it's a little cold in here," says Ellie in a lower voice, between kisses.

Joel gives her a smile. "Don't worry, baby, I will be into that soon enough." Joel doesn't need to wait long to get hard. So he moves quickly to the closest wall and uses it to support Ellie against it. As soon as they are in position, Joel starts to lower Ellie until his dick starts to enter her. Ellie tight her eyes a soon, she feels Joel's dick start to go inside of her. A moment later, a moan escaped her mouth as she feels the pleasure of having Joel inside of her again. Ellie moves her head back and presses her hand on Joel's shoulder to help him go deeper. When she feels herself get to the base of his dick, she moves her head to his neck and starts kissing Joel there. After Joel is all the way in, he speaks. "Ellie, are you… sure that you… want to do this… now?... we can stop if-" he asks her before starting to move.

Ellie starts to giggle a little. "Really, Joel!?… you're asking me, after… you go all the way in?"

"Yeah… sorry about that… I just want to make sure that-" Ellie puts a finger on his lips.

"Shhh… don't be sorry… just- just... make love to me… even if it has to be a quick one. Please!... I need it, and so do you," says Ellie, setting her pleading eyes on him.

"Okay… baby… if you want it that much, who am I to say no to that..." Joel moves his hand and grabs her ass hard, then he starts to move her up and down. He starts slowly at first, making sure that Ellie enjoys the little time they have for this. Ellie starts kissing his neck again while Joel continues his slow thrusts into her. After a few minutes, Joel starts to move a little faster. Ellie starts to moan again, so Joel takes her mouth with his to muffle the sound; it's better if no one can hear them. In time, Joel starts to move faster and deeper, knowing that both of them are getting close to their climax.

" _Oh… yes!... this feels so good… yes, Joel, go faster!"_ Ellie mumbles inside Joel's mouth while they're still kissing. A few minutes later, and with a few more thrusts, Ellie feels her body go tense and hot, so she knows that she is close. " _Oh… Joel… yessss... I'm so close now…. I think... I think I'm coming… please go faster,"_ Ellie says with her face buried in Joel's shoulder now. Ellie holds herself tight and starts to move her body too, so Joel doesn't have to do all the work. A few minutes later, both of them make a little noise as they come at the same time. Joel keeps Ellie pinned to the wall and uses it to support both of them when he loses some of the strength in his legs. They are gasping for air while their hearts are beating too fast. "Shit… Joel... I really needed that… thanks…" she says while Joel starts to pull himself out of her and move Ellie down to the ground. "Shit… Ellie, I came inside of you… again!" Joel says, looking down, still getting some air.

Ellie grabs his face and gives him a little kiss, then moves back. "It's okay, Joel, I don't think that we need to worry about that now," she says with a smile on her face. Joel doesn't say anything to that, but she still sees the worry in his face. So she tries to change the subject. "Okay, it's better to put our pants back on, because I'm starting to feel the cold." Joel nods and starts to move away to get his pants from the floor. The heat of the sex warmed their bodies, but now that they've finished, they start to feel the cold again. A few minutes later, they are completed dressed up again.

After they finish, Ellie looks at him with a worried expression. "Joel!... what are we going to do now?... I mean, we need to talk about all this, you know… the baby, the trip-"

Joel moves closer to her and puts his hands on her shoulder. "Don't worry, kiddo, we're going to have time to talk about all this later. We're going to get to California in a few weeks, so we can talk on the way there, or just wait until we find the guy we're looking for and see what we do then… okay?" Then Joel pulls her closer and hugs her. She hugs him back tight. Then Joel kisses the top of her head. "Don't worry, kiddo, everything's going to be fine, I promise."

Ellie puts her head on his chest and closes her eyes. "Thank you, Joel… I love you."

"I love you, too… kiddo… I love you so much."

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A/N: **Hi Just want to LYK that as the next chapter is going to be the last one of part-3. And as I going on Christmas vacation on the 21, I going to post the last chapter that day. Hope that all of you enjoying the Christmas time.**


	17. Chapter17:Questions,Answers,andGoodbyes

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own any character of (The Last of Us) TLOU is owned by Naughty Dog, but all the Oc character are from my invention.**

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 **Chapter 17 : Questions, Answers, and Goodbyes**

Joel and Ellie stay in each other's arms for a few minutes, trying to calm themselves down and enjoy the little time together. After they separate, Joel gives Ellie a small kiss on her lips and moves toward the bag to get something to eat. After they give the horses something to eat, Ellie says goodbye to her horse. Then both of them walk out of the little storage room and go back inside the cabin.

As soon as they go in and close the back door, Joel makes sure that the door is secure from inside. Ellie moves close to the fire where Bibi is with her son, and sits in front of her. Bibi looks at her with some curiosity, but as Ellie doesn't say anything, she speaks. "Hey… did you have some trouble finding the food?... because you really took your time on that?... and I was starting to worry..." she says, looking at her, then at Joel.

Ellie puts the food can on the floor and looks at her. "Oh, yeah… well, I have to take care of the horses first, then Joel showed up, and we... started talking… you know... And we lost track of time," says Ellie with a little blush on her face.

As soon as Joel finishes with the door, he walks toward the fire and sits beside Ellie. "You don't need to worry now - both doors are secure and all the traps are set. So after we eat, you two can go to sleep and I will keep guard all night to make sure that no one enters here," Joel says while he picks up one of the cans and starts to open it.

Bibi passes her hand over the top of her son's head, then she looks at them. "Thanks, Joel, I feel more secure now. And it's okay if you two want to talk, or whatever... it's not my business what you two do. I know that you two need time to catch up, after all this," Bibi says, winking at Ellie. Ellie turns her head to the side, trying to hide her red face from Bibi.

After they eat, Bibi lays beside her son and hugs him. She needs to have her son close, too; after the slavers took him, Bibi didn't have much contact with him.

Joel practically has to make Ellie get some sleep too, and after he stays with her for an hour, she finally falls asleep. After that, Joel moves close to one of the front windows and watches. An hour later, he feels Ellie sitting beside him. She puts half of her blanket on top of him, then she puts her head on his shoulder and covers herself with the other half.

Joel shakes his head a little, then looks at her. "Ellie, you need to go back to sleep… we're moving out in the morning and you need the rest," says Joel, turning his head and continuing looking outside.

Ellie closes her eyes and enjoys his warm body. "Joel, we were apart for two weeks, not knowing if you were alive or not. Not knowing what was going to happen to me or the-"

she stops and turns her head to look at Bibi, making sure that she's still sleeping. Then she turns her head back to Joel's shoulder. " _Or the baby,"_ she says in a lower voice. "Besides, you need to sleep, too. And if you're not going to let me take a turn to watch, then I will stay up with you."

Joel shakes his head again. "You're never going to do what I tell you… are you?" he says with a little smile.

"Nope!… unless it's something rational. Joel, I know that you want to protect me, but we're in this together, remember?"

"Yeah, I know… but it's not only... _us…_ now." Joel stays quiet for a moment, then he looks at her. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asks with worry in his tone.

"Yes, Joel, I'm fine… I'm fine now that I'm back with you… I just need you close to me, to make me feel better." Both of them stay there. Joel puts one arm around her and after another hour, Ellie falls asleep beside Joel.

The next morning, Joel and Ellie get up with the sound of a little kid bothering his mother with a lot of questions. As soon as he sees Ellie waking up, he goes to her and hugs her. Ellie is happy to see the little kid be okay. So after they eat something, they pack their things and move out of the cabin.

(one week later)

The four of them get down off the mountain without any problem, and as they get closer to California, the snow starts to get lower on the road. Ellie and Joel are riding on Ellie's horse and Bibi and Liam are riding Joel's. They don't talk too much about what happened, especially in front of the kid. They try to talk about other things, and in the end, they tell Bibi about Jackson. Ellie and Joel try to learn more about her and the kid, but sometimes Bibi doesn't like to talk about herself too much. During the week together, when he and Ellie were alone,

Joel explained to Ellie about how Bibi told him that the kid was not really hers. That she found a woman that was dying, so she took the kid as her own after the woman died. Ellie was a little surprised by the information, but Joel told her that he doesn't know anything about the boy being immune. After all the time Ellie and the boy spent together when they were taken by the slave people, the kid seemed to get close to Ellie, and sometimes, he even calls her aunt. That makes Ellie smile, but she still wants to know if the kid is immune or not.

They stay on the 140 state road until they pass north of Medford city and take the route 5. They stop to rest in an old gas station that they found on the outside of Gold Hill. As the night falls, the four of them are sitting close to the fire, cooking two rabbits that Joel hunted that morning. Joel is looking at the map, trying to see what route they need to take.

"Okay, tomorrow we're going to continue on Route 5 - that takes us to Grants Pass, and after that, we can take Route 199. That route is going to take us to border of California, then to the north coast of that state," says Joel, pointing to the places on the map.

"How long is that going to take?" asks Ellie from beside him.

"I dunno, maybe 4 or 5 days at most. But lucky for us, it's going to be warmer as we get closer to the coast," says Joel, closing the map.

Bibi has her son on her lap, playing with a toy that Ellie found on the road a few days back. "You told me that you were going to California looking for man. Where exactly are you going to find him?" Bibi asks curiously.

Joel and Ellie look at each other. And even though they told her about Jackson, they don't know if it's a good idea to tell her everything. But Bibi and her kid are traveling with them now, so after a few minutes, they decide to share more information with her, and they hope that in time, that's going to help them when they ask her about what they need to know about the boy. So Joel starts to talk. "Well, the last time I heard from him, he was in a settlement in a town called Eureka. It's on the coast, close to the border between California and Oregon," Joel explains.

"And you think that he's still there?" Bibi asks.

"Well, I hope so. I haven't seen him for the last 6 years, but where he was, is a good place to live. So I think that he should still be in there," says Joel, answering her question. They start talking about some other things. A few hours later, Liam is sleeping close to the fire while Bibi is checking her bag to see what she has left. Lucky for them, since the incident with the Fireflies and the mercenaries, they haven't found any hunters or any infected in grand numbers, so they haven't used any ammo. They get close to some infected, but as there were too many, they killed them easily without using their guns.

Joel goes out to check the perimeter and make sure that they're going to be safe for the night. Ellie and Bibi stay inside, sitting in the middle of the place. Ellie is beside Bibi, trying to ask her the question about the boy. She looks at her and after a few minutes, she starts to talk. "Joel told me about that wounded woman you found, and how Liam ended up in your care." Ellie looks back at the fire, trying to hide the expression on her face. "Do you know why the Fireflies want him?... do you know if he... is... special?" Ellie finally asks, not looking at her.

Bibi looks at her with some concern in her eyes. "Special!?... I don't know what exactly Joel told you. But I'm not just taking care of him - he is my son, no matter what people say. And as for the Fireflies… no, I don't know why they want my son, or you." She turns her head and looks at the fire.

Ellie looks at her. "Sorry, I don't want to be rude or anything. But we need to know if the Fireflies had something to do with that woman or the boy... Joel says that she was wounded, so maybe she was running from them."

Bibi looks at her again. "Why do you insist on asking all these questions?... I already told you that I don't know anything," she says with an irritated tone.

"Because we know that you know something about the woman and the boy…" says Joel as soon as he enters the place. "And we need to know if the Fireflies are going to be after us."

Ellie moves closer to her; she is glad that the boy is sleeping on the side and can't hear all of that. "Look. We think that Liam is immune... we only want to be sure."

"Immune?... to the virus?... what makes you think that?" says Bibi, a little surprised.

"Because that would be the only reason the Fireflies are looking for him. The leader of the mercenaries told me that the Fireflies hired them to find a boy that is supposed to be 5 years old, and-"

"Ha, and you believed them?... and even if that was true, that boy could be anybody… what makes you think that that boy is Liam?"

"Because they said that the boy was born 5 years ago in those forest. And I don't think that you finding Liam 5 years ago is a coincidence."

Joel moves close to them and sits on the other side of the fire. "Look, we're not judging you or anything... we just want to know if the kid is immune. Because if he is, the Fireflies are going to continue looking for him," says Joel with a worried expression.

Bibi lowers her head and looks at her son sleeping a few feet away from her. She passes her hand over her head and takes a deep breath. "I love him… you know."

Ellie and Joel looks at her as she continues. "Yeah, I didn't bring him to this world, but he is my son. And nobody is going to take him away from me, not even the Fireflies," she says without looking at them.

"Just tell us what you know. Maybe that way, we can help you. We can find a safe place for you and Liam," says Ellie with a sad expression.

"You told me about the woman when we were en route to the slave camp. But I know that you didn't tell me the whole truth... So just tell us what happened - the truth this time."

Bibi looks at her with a surprised expression. Why does Ellie want to help her after what she's done to her? That is a mystery that she doesn't understand, but at least they deserve to know the truth about her son. "We were safe before, in that cabin. But I know that all that is gone now." Bibi looks at her son again, then looks at the fire. "Okay, I think you deserve the truth. Five years ago I was in the forest with my dad, hunting. My father shot a bison... it was big one, so he didn't die on the first shot, so we followed him. After an hour of looking for him, we found a few abandoned houses. So we decided to check them out. But after we checked the first two and didn't find anything, we moved to the last one."

"When we got close to the last house, we heard some noise inside. At first, we thought that there were infected inside. So we moved slowly and went in, prepared for anything. My father and I didn't see any infected at first sight. But after a while, we heard a baby crying... coming from one of the rooms of the house. So we went there and checked. When we entered the room, we found a woman with a baby in her arms. The baby seemed to be born like a few weeks earlier. So my father moved close to her to check if she wasn't infected. My dad saw that she had an old wound, and that probably she lost some blood during the birth. He did what he could for her, but she was so weak, so it was just a matter of time. She didn't say much, only that she escaped from some bad people and that the only thing she wanted was to make sure that her baby was safe.

"She died a few days later, but before that, she told me that the boy was special. That he someday was going to change this world. I never understood what she meant by that. But the boy was special to me, so I took care of him. My dad didn't want me to at first, but after a while, he started to love him as much I do. When he went outside to dig a hole, so that way, we could bury the woman, I found a bag in one of the other rooms. When I checked inside, I found a pendant or something like that, with the Fireflies' emblem. I never said anything to my father, and after we moved out of there, it didn't matter anymore. We found the cabin a few weeks later, and as we had a baby to take care of, we decided to stay there."

"So, if you found the pendant with the Fireflies' emblem in her things, that means that she was one of them. What I don't get is why she escaped from them?" asks Ellie, but more to herself.

"I think that she probably found out what they were going to do with the baby and ran away. If they knew that the baby was immune, they were going to use him," says Joel, looking at Ellie.

Bibi looks at Ellie, then at Joel. "So you think that Liam is immune and that is why they're looking for him?"

"Yes!" answers Ellie sadly.

"And how do you know that?" asks Bibi, trying to get how they know all that.

"Because they've done this before. They've been looking for a cure for a long time. I thought that they stopped five years ago, but I can see now that they didn't. And believe me, they will kill any immune people to find it," Joel explains to her, but can't believe that they want to do to this boy what they almost did to Ellie.

Bibi looks at them, then at the boy. "I thought that finding a cure was a good thing… but killing a child to find it?... Well, he is my son, and immune or not, I'm not going to let them take him from me." She moves a little and puts a hand on top of the boy.

Ellie shakes her head. She once wanted to help them to find a cure; that was her mission. But after Joel told her, and knowing about the things they do, she doesn't want to be part of that anymore. "Don't worry, we're going to help you with that," says Ellie, putting a hand on her shoulder. Bibi looks at her and thanks her. A little while after that, they go to sleep.

(A few days later)

They stop in the afternoon to rest, in an old bus station on the route 5, close to the intersection that divides the road north to Oregon and south to California. Ellie stays outside with Liam while Bibi and Joel go inside to check the place. After they finish and make sure that it's safe to pass the night in, Joel moves to one of the front windows that is unbroken, and starts looking outside.

He smiles while he watches Ellie playing with the little boy. He starts to think how Ellie is going to be when their baby born. He tries not to think of Sarah, but it's something he's never going to forget.

Joel is lost in thought when he feels Bibi standing beside him. "She really likes kids… humm?"

He stays looking at them outside. "She never had a good childhood, or a family that gave her a good life. But I think that she is going to be a great mother someday," he answers without looking at her.

"Yeah, she is a strong young woman. It's hard to see, what people can do to survive in this world," says Bibi with a sad voice. "My son is starting to love her, so he is going to be sad when we go separate ways."

Joel turn and looks at her. "What do you mean?... I thought that you were coming with us?"

Bibi lowers her head and gives him a sad smile. "Yeah, it was a nice offer, especially for Liam. Having a safe place to grow up would be nice."

"Yeah, it is. Look, Jackson is not perfect, but it can be good for him… for both of you." Joel doesn't understand why she wants to travel alone with a kid that young; it's going to be hard, and dangerous.

Bibi turns and looks outside. "I need to figure things out, and with the Fireflies looking for him, it's not fair to the people of your town," she says, lowering her head.

Joel puts a hand on her shoulder. "I don't think that it's going to be a problem. Believe me, the people of Jackson are taking that risk everyday. Nobody is really safe in this world, but if we stay together, we can protect the kid together." Joel can't believe that he is saying that to her, after what happened. But he knows inside that it's the right thing to do. For her and the kid.

"Yeah… look, maybe I can take your offer one day. But for now, it's better for me and Liam to go away," she says, looking at him now.

"You don't have to do this alone, we can work some-"

Bibi puts one hand on top of his. "It's okay, Joel, we're going to be fine. My father has some friends up north of here. So I will go to find them. I know that they're going to be happy to help us. My father wanted to come last year, before… they killed him."

"So you've made up your mind on this... humm! There is nothing we can do to convince you to come with us?"

"No, at least not for now. Maybe someday we'll go there and check out your little town," she says with a smile on her face.

"Well, if there's nothing we can do to make you stay with us, then at least take my horse. It's the least we can do."

"Oh...no, no. I can't accept that - that is too much."

"Well, I ain't going to take no for an answer. And I'm sure that Ellie won't let you go alone on foot with that kid. So you're going to take him. See it like a loan: you can bring him back when you decide to go to Jackson for a visit or stay."

Bibi laughs a little at that. "Okay, it's a deal. And maybe you're going to see me sooner than you think."

"Okay then. We have one more day to get to that intersection. So you can travel with us until we get there."

Bibi moves close and gives him a hug. "Thanks, Joel… for everything, even if I don't deserve it."

Joel feels strange about the hug; he didn't expect her to do that. "Look, I did a lot of bad things for a long time, but Ellie made me change. She gave me a second chance to have a life again. So I think that some people just need a second chance, too. Believe me, I know how you feel." Then Joel puts his arm behind her, returning her hug.

"Thanks… I think that Ellie did a good job on you... She's an amazing girl!"

"Yeah, she is…" says Joel, looking through the window and watching Ellie playing with the little kid.

The next day, they depart from the bus station and go on the road again. Five hours later, they finally arrive at the intersection. They dismount their horses and say goodbye to each other. Liam is a little sad because he can't spend more time with Ellie. But Bibi promises him that they're going to see them again. Ellie takes out a necklace from her backpack and gives it to him, so that way, he can remember her. She found the necklace a month ago and kept it in her backpack. Then Ellie gives him a big hug and tells him that they will see each other again soon. After that, they mount their horses and Bibi goes out north on the road with her son. Joel and Ellie stay there for a while until they can't see her anymore, then they move away and continue south.

Two days later, they see a sign that says ' **Welcome to California**.' So finally, they are arriving at their destination. Joel tells her that the place where they're going is still a few days away. Ellie is happy to finally arrive in the state, and to be closer to finishing their mission. Ellie tells Joel that she wants to find the guy as soon as possible so that way, they can go back to Jackson and start their new life together as a family.

 **To Be Continued….**

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A/N: **This is it people, I hope you like this part and don't worry the next part is going to be the end of this story. As I said before I going to be in vacation, so I not be working on the 4 part until the beginning of next year. But I will try to start posting a soon I have half of the story ready. So Merry Christmas to all and a happy new year. Thanks for read my work and see you soon here again.**


	18. Announcement Part-4 Coming on March

Hi, I just want to let you know that I starting to work on the Part -4 of this Mini-series. So for the people that are following this story I want to tell you that it probably going to start posting in the middle or the end of March 2019. If I get ready some chapter before that time I let you know. Thanks for your patience and to continue reading this story. I will love to have all of you back for this one too and hear what you think of the story so far in your review. So thank you and see you soon. Also, I want to LYK that as I don't have the person that edits the story anymore. I using a program to help me with that. So I will do my best to make it as clean as I can.

And remember this will be the last part of this series, after that, I will start to work with another story. again then you to read my story, I hope that they're good enough for you.


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